Avalanche Forecast

Fair - Intensity of incoming weather is uncertain

Friday should be dry in the morning before a frontal system moves through later in the afternoon. Only very light amounts are forecast for the southern part of the Interior (3-5cm). The freezing level should remain at valley bottom on Friday with moderate SW winds. Saturday should be mainly dry with a possibility of an above freezing layer developing between 1800 and 2600m. Light to moderate snowfall is expected on Sunday as another weak system moves through. The freezing level should return to valley bottom.

There have been no recent reports of avalanches. Fresh soft wind slabs are expected to form and become an avalanche problem.

Large surface hoar and faceted powder on sheltered shady slopes, and a surface crust on sun-exposed slopes, is now lightly buried in most locations and should continue to get incrementally buried over the forecast period. Assuming the structure of this current snow surface is preserved long enough for a sufficiently thick and cohesive slab to bury it, then a highly unstable situation should develop. Particularly where surface hoar and/or faceted crystals are associated with a weak crust. Generally speaking the longer surface snow is exposed to the elements before it gets burred, the more likely it is to become a serious problem. The mid and lower snowpack are generally well settled and strong, but faceted. Recent easy test results on basal facets and depth hoar necessitates caution on wind-exposed slopes with highly variable snowpack depths, where this deep persistent weakness could be triggered from a shallow spot. Check out the Forecaster's Blog link below for more general snowpack discussion and good advice.