Regions
Northwest Inland.
If you head out this weekend please tell us what you find. Submit your observations to the Mountain Information Network.
Confidence
Poor - Due to the number and quality of field observations
Weather Forecast
A ridge will build over the weekend signaling an end to the wetness. Before it does up to 5mm of rain may fall in the west of the region overnight on Friday. Saturday will see mainly dry conditions with moderate southwest winds and a freezing level of 1500m. Isolated showers with sunny periods are expected on Sunday with a freezing level of 1000m; winds will be light from the west. The region should be dry by Monday, with light northwesterly winds and a freezing level of 1000m.
Avalanche Summary
We haven't received any new avalanche reports recently but that may just be because not many people are getting out. Given the uncertainty I would keep keep the persistent week layers in mind over the weekend.
Snowpack Summary
At treeline and above between 10 and 25cm of new snow may sit on a thin layer of surface hoar. At lower elevations, rain has saturated the upper snowpack and a freezing rain crust may be found up to around 1100m. A number of weak layers are lingering in the mid-pack although we haven't received much new information in the last week and I'm uncertain as to which of these are still players, and which are now dormant. The early-February surface hoar layer is not found everywhere, but where it does exist it is buried between 40 and 80 cm down. The late January crust is probably down 85 to 160cm in the South of the region but is likely to be shallower in the North. The mid-January rain crust and surface hoar is probably down between 100 and 200cm. Finally, the crust/facet combination from November can be found near the ground.
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.
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.
Persistent Slabs
Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.