Regions
South Coast Inland.
The storm impacting the South Coast won't bring significant precipitation inland. Cornice hazards remain the primary concern in the region.
Confidence
Moderate - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
Sunday: Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries and a trace of new snow. Light southwest winds. Freezing level to 1700 metres with alpine temperatures of -3.Monday: A mix of sun and cloud. Light northeast winds. Freezing level to 1900 metres with alpine temperatures around -1.Tuesday: Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated wet flurries with a trace of new snow. Light to moderate southwest winds. Freezing level to 1900 metres with alpine temperatures around -1.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been reported in the region. Please post your observations to the Mountain Information Network.On Wednesday we had reports of several loose wet avalanches to Size 2 running on north aspects in the alpine in the Duffey Lake area. The new snow was especially reactive to ski cutting on solar (south) aspects, running easily on the Easter crust.
Snowpack Summary
Warm temperatures and sunshine recently moistened surface snow on most aspects and elevations. Gradually cooling temperatures will promote the formation of a surface crust down to about 1500 metres by Sunday morning. Below the surface, stormy weather over the beginning of the week brought about 20-30 cm of new snow to the region, with this precipitation falling as rain below about 1500m. Southerly winds over the same time period formed fragile new cornice growth. The snowpack is generally well settled and strong, but basal weaknesses in the far north of the region remain a concern. With that said, the possible triggers for deep weaknesses in this part of the region are likely limited to large cornice falls.
Problems
Cornices
Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.