Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Regions
South Coast.
As rain turns to snow in the alpine potentially touchy storm slabs and cornices are expected to develop.
Confidence
Moderate - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
This system has brought over 200 mm of rain to the forecast region. The storm should offer one last pulse Tuesday night. Wednesday offers the start of what looks to be a pretty significant drying trend as cold air begins to descend from the Arctic. No significant precipitation is expected for the forecast period and it looks like clear skies by the weekend.TUESDAY NIGHT: Freezing level around 1500 m, moderate to strong southwest wind, 20 to 25 mm of precipitation expected to fall as rain on all but the highest peaks. WEDNESDAY: Broken cloud cover, freezing level holding around 1500 m, light gusting moderate southwest wind, trace of precipitation possible.THURSDAY: Scattered cloud cover, freezing level around 1200 m, light northerly wind, no significant precipitation expected.FRIDAY: Scattered cloud cover, freezing level around 900 m, light variable wind, no significant precipitation expected.
Avalanche Summary
No avalanches have been reported. Please submit any observations you have to the Mountain Information Network here.
Snowpack Summary
Monday's storm produced over 200 mm of precipitation that mostly fell as rain. Winds were extreme out of the south/southwest. Cornices likely formed on many ridgelines. Terrain above 1300 m will likely receive 20 to 30 cm of snow Tuesday night which is expected to form fresh storm slabs. Alpine areas near Squamish have the most snow, with around 70 cm of settled snow on the ground. In the alpine, there may be a crust lower in the snowpack. It is thought that there is insufficient snow for avalanches below 1500 m.
Problems
Cornices
Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.
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.