Avalanche Forecast

Fair - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather is uncertain

Saturday: A system in Northern Washington may graze BC's South Coast, giving a chance of flurries and freezing levels rising to 1200m. Upper level southerly winds continue. Areas further east may see more clearing and higher freezing levels. Sunday / Monday: Expect continued unsettled conditions with precipitation building to heavy Monday afternoon. Freezing levels may reach 1200m each afternoon. Winds slowly turn southerly to southeasterly and increase as the precip intensifies.

Many human triggered windslab events up to size 2.have been reported from lee and crossloaded features at treeline and above. Slabs are more reactive where the surface hoar is present, yielding wider propagation. We also have reports of isolated cornice releases in the high alpine to size 2.0 that did not release deeper layers. With persistent warm temperatures, there have been several large (3.0-3.5) natural glide crack releases in the Coquihalla area where the entire snowpack fails down to smooth rock slabs.

30-50cm of new snow now overlies the March 26 interface. This has been accompanied by consistently moderate and at times gusty southerly winds forming windslabs in lee locations. Cornices are huge, and will continue to grow with this weather pattern. Settlement has been very The March 26 interface is a crust on all aspects except true north treeline and alpine, where small surface hoar (5mm) is present in sheltered places. The bonds between the new snow and this interface are weak, especially in locations where the surface hoar is present. Easy planar results have been observed in testing at treeline on surface hoar size 2-4mm. At lower elevations, the consistent high freezing levels have kept the new snow moist and heavy. The deep, persistent early February layers linger in the snowpack and remain a concern with heavy triggers and rapid loading.