Confidence
Fair - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather is uncertain on Saturday
Weather Forecast
Overnight and Saturday: Dry and cool overnight with no precipitation. Light precipitation starting in the morning, expect 5-10 cms during the day. Winds becoming moderate-strong Southerly on Saturday. Freezing level rising up to about 1000 metres.Sunday: Light precipitation is expected to continue during the day. Winds becoming light Southerly. Alpine temperatures around -5.0 and freezing levels at the valley bottoms.Monday: Continued light precipitation. Temperatures cooling off to about -10.0 in the alpine overnight.
Avalanche Summary
Loose snow avalanches (sluffing) continue to be reported from steep terrain.
Snowpack Summary
A thin layer of dry cold snow has buried recent surface hoar layers. Surface hoar growth resulted in bigger crystals observed at treeline and below (up to 10mm). In protected areas, the surface hoar continues into the alpine but crystal size is significantly smaller and distribution is patchy. Near surface faceting has penetrated the upper snowpack as deep as 30cm, keeping the surface snow soft. The patchy sun from the past few days has left behind a thin, breakable crust on south and west aspects. The mid-pack is well settled.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.