Avalanche Forecast
Regions: South Coast.
A rapid rise in the freezing level is expected over the day, which could activate the recent snow.
Confidence
Moderate - Uncertainty is due to the limited number of field observations.
Weather Forecast
TUESDAY NIGHT: Clear skies, 10 km/h northwest wind, treeline temperature -4 C, freezing level 600 m.
WEDNESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, 10 km/h northwest wind, treeline temperature 0 C, freezing level 500 m rising to 2300 m over the day.
THURSDAY: Clear skies, 20 km/h southeast wind, treeline temperature 4 C, freezing level 2500 m.
FRIDAY: Cloudy with rain or snow, accumulation 10 mm or 10 cm, 20 km/h southeast wind, treeline temperature 2 C, freezing level 1600 m.
Avalanche Summary
Snowpack Summary
Around 20 cm of snow came out of Monday's storm, which fell onto a hard melt-freeze crust up to around 1500 m. The concern for Wednesday is this snow turning into touchy slabs that could slide easily on the crust. At the mountain tops, the snow may have been blown into wind slabs on all slopes due to variable wind directions.
The remainder of the snowpack is well-settled and hosts numerous other melt-freeze crusts.
Terrain and Travel
- Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the crust.
- Extra caution for areas experiencing rapidly warming temperatures for the first time.
- Watch for areas of hard wind slab on alpine features.
- Cornices often break further back than expected; give them a wide berth when traveling on ridgetops.
Avalanche Problems
Storm Slabs
Around 20 cm of snow overlies a hard crust. A warming trend may add slab properties to this snow and make it easy to trigger. If triggered, it should slide easily on the crust.
At the mountain tops, thicker wind slabs may be found on all aspects due to variable wind directions.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2