Regions
Northwest Coastal.
Storm snow will add additional load to the shallow snow pack
Weather Forecast
A series of Pacific lows with high winds will move through the area in the next few days. Although the timing is unclear from the models, by Saturday evening the area may have received up to 50mm of precipitation followed by an arctic outbreak for the beginning of the next week.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanche activity has been reported to date. Expect wind slabs to develop during the storm. Additional loading may overload the weak layer 20 cm from the surface and/or the crust near the bottom of the snow pack.
Snowpack Summary
At the beginning of this storm cycle the snow pack was little more than a metre at 1000 M. elevation with two identifiable weak layers at 20cm and 90 cm from the surface. New snow will load the existing snow pack and may produce avalanche activity on these layers. Surface storm slabs are expected to develop during the storm cycle due to forecast high winds and new snow.
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.