Avalanche Forecast

Saturday night: Stormy, 10-30 cm snow expected overnight, the highest precipitation amounts are forecast near Kitimat and along the coast, and quickly taper eastward and inland. Strong south wind gusting to extreme. Ridgeline low -4 C overnight.

Sunday: Stormy and unsettled, with a variable 5-10 cm forecast through the day. Strong to extreme winds peaking overnight and decreasing to moderate southwesterlies by the end of the day. Ridgeline high -3 C.

Monday: Cloudy with flurries and sunny breaks, up to 10 cm. Moderate west wind. Ridgeline high 0 C.

Tuesday: Flurries, trace to 5 cm. Moderate westerly wind. Ridgeline high -4 C.

On Thursday, wind slabs to size 1.5 were reactive to skiers, reported on northerly aspects with crown depths 15-40 cm. On Wednesday, explosives in the north of the region triggered storm slabs to size 2.

Earlier in the week natural cornice falls and wet loose avalanches were observed throughout the region.

Strong winds will quickly impact accumulating snowfall. Below the new snow, a crust can be found on all aspects and elevations except high elevation north-facing terrain. In the north of the region, small surface hoar may be found above this crust. With warm, spring storms, expect snowfall accumulations to decrease with elevation and transition to moist snow or rain below tree line.

A weak layer of surface hoar from mid-March buried 70-120 cm deep can still be found but is considered dormant around the Terrace area. However, in the far north of the region, it produced large avalanches as recently as Sunday.

• Avoid all avalanche terrain during periods of strong wind.
• Make conservative terrain choices and avoid overhead hazard.
• Give the new snow time to settle and stabilize before pushing into bigger terrain.
• Use extra caution around cornices: they are large, fragile, and can trigger slabs on slopes below.