Regions
Northwest Coastal.
The snowpack is variable across the region. Wind slabs and storm slabs may be found on some slopes in the alpine and at treeline.
Confidence
Moderate - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
TUESDAY: Cloudy with light winds. Flurries. Alpine temperature near -5.WEDNESDAY: Cloudy with light winds. Flurries. Alpine temperature near -12.THURSDAY: Cloudy with light winds. Flurries. Alpine temperature near -15.
Avalanche Summary
A skier triggered a size 2 wind slab on Sunday on a NW aspect at about 1400 m near Terrace.
Snowpack Summary
The snowpack is variable across the region. Wind slabs and storm slabs may be found on some slopes in the alpine and at treeline. The upper snowpack consists of several layers of interest, including a breakable temperature /rain crust, surface hoar and facets. A hard crust from mid-December sits deeper in the snowpack, about 50 cm down.Beneath the mid-December crust the snowpack is reported to be generally strong with the possible exception of areas around Stewart and northern parts of the region where the late-October, basal crust can be found near the base of the snowpack. Weak sugary faceted snow may exist around this deeply buried crust and could be triggered from shallow snowpack areas.
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.