Avalanche Forecast
Regions: East Island, North Island, South Island, Vancouver Island, West Island.
Give the storm snow time to bond before stepping out. Storm slabs will likely remain reactive to rider traffic.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
We suspect a natural storm slab cycle may have taken place at the peak of the storm Friday night.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 60cm of new snow has accumulated above 700m with extreme southerly wind impacting open terrain. This snow has fallen above a melt-freeze crust, and observations from the past few days suggest the snow may bond poorly to this crust. The crust is up to 10 cm thick at lower elevations and tapers down to 1 cm thick on shaded or high elevation terrain. Below this crust, the snowpack is generally strong and bonded.
Check out this MIN from our field team to learn more.
Weather Summary
Saturday Night
Cloudy with up to 10cm of new snow expected at higher elevations. Moderate to strong southeast winds and freezing levels falling to 1100m.
Sunday
Cloudy with around 5cm of new snow expected at higher elevations. Light westerly winds and freezing levels rising to 1400m.
Monday
Cloudy with 5 to 40cm of new snow expected at higher elevations. Greatest snowfall amounts expected on west side of island. Moderate southwest winds and freezing levels rising to 1500m.
Tuesday
Cloudy with 5 to 90cm of new snow expected at higher elevations. Greatest snowfall amounts expected on west side of island. Moderate to strong southwest winds and freezing levels rising to 1300m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
- Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the crust.
- Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.
Avalanche Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm slabs will likely remain reactive to rider triggering. The largest and most reactive slabs will be found on north and east aspects.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Possible - Likely
Expected Size: 1.5 - 2.5