Confidence
Fair - Intensity of incoming weather is uncertain
Weather Forecast
Synopsis: Northwesterly flow will bring a series of low-intensity pulses of precipitation interspersed with short-lived periods of clear weather to the region through the forecast period. Temperatures will start out fairly cool but rise Tuesday afternoon and into Wednesday to become mild.Tuesday: Mainly dry during the day. Temperatures rising from -8C in the morning to around -4C in the afternoon. Northwesterly winds, gusting to 30km/h at ridgetop.Wednesday: Light snowfall, up to 5cm. Treeline temperatures around 0C. Northwesterly winds gusting to 50km/h at ridgetop.Thursday: Dry and bright. Temperatures rising through the day with the possibility of above zero temperatures at treeline in the afternoon. Generally light northwesterly winds.
Avalanche Summary
On Monday, there were a few, mostly loose snow avalanches on north-facing slopes at higher elevations. There was one small (size 1) human-triggered avalanche reported from 1500 m at valley bottom near a creek. I suspect this is the kind of place surface hoar (most likely the Jan 24th layer, buried 40 cm) would be well preserved. Another small human-triggered avalanche was reported from a north-facing slope in the alpine.
Snowpack Summary
HST 40 to 50 cm over Jan 24 SH/sc. HST settling into soft slab - watch on solar and SH (esp BTL). Pockety WSL N & E aspects. Jan 4 SH down 90 TL & BTL. Rime or Zr CR reported in Monashees.(Eagle Pass, MPS)
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.