Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Northwest Coastal.
Confidence
Moderate - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
A dry ridge of high pressure will bring mainly clear skies for Thursday and Friday. Increased cloud and isolated flurries are forecast for Friday evening and Saturday. The freezing level will spike to about 2800m on Thursday and then hover around 2400m on Friday and Saturday. Ridgetop winds will remain mainly light and variable.
Avalanche Summary
Stormy weather has limited avalanche observations, although I'm sure there was a decent round of natural storm slab activity in response to new snow and wind on Tuesday. As temperatures rise, cornice failures, loose wet, wet slab and isolated deep persistent slab avalanches should be on your radar.
Snowpack Summary
On Tuesday between 25 and 45cm of new snow fell with highest accumulations noted in the south of the region. Extreme westerly winds throughout the storm promoted continued cornice growth and created a widespread wind effect at higher elevations. About 35-60cm below the surface you'll find a widespread hard melt-freeze crust that formed as a result of last week's warm weather and more recent cooling. A few deeply buried weak layers exist within the snowpack including a widespread crust/facet layer buried in early February down around 1.5 m and weak basal facets at the bottom of the snowpack. The near-surface crust has dramatically limited the reactivity of these destructive old layers; however, they have the potential for isolated yet very large avalanches with forecast warming and solar radiation.
Avalanche Problems
Loose Wet
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Very Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 4
Storm Slabs
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 4
Cornices
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 2 - 5