Regions
Northwest Coastal.
Stormy weather is forecast for the weekend. Avalanche danger is trending up if the storms push far enough north.
Confidence
Low - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain
Weather Forecast
The freezing level should remain at about 500 metres overnight and during the day Saturday. Expect 5-10 cm overnight and another 10-15 cm during the day combined with moderate southerly winds. Heavy precipitation, strong southerly winds and rising freezing levels are forecast for Sunday and Overnight to Monday morning. There should be a bit of lull between storms during the day Monday.
Avalanche Summary
Explosive controlled storm slab avalanches up to size 2.5 and skier controlled cornice to size 2.0 on Thursday from north of Stewart. No new natural avalanches reported.
Snowpack Summary
A MIN report from Shames on Thursday describes 8-12 cm soft wind slabs at 1300 metres on southerly aspects that were not well bonded to the underlying crust. The distribution of surface hoar left after the recent clear weather is our biggest knowledge gap. New storm slabs are widespread and variable in depth. The north of the region has more snow than the south and the temperatures in the north have been cooler with lower freezing levels. If you any observations please submit them to the Mountain information Network (MIN) at www.avalanche.ca
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.