Avalanche Forecast

A weak storm system is expected for Friday. 2-4mm of precipitation is expected with freezing levels dropping to around 1300m in the afternoon. Moderate to strong southerly winds are expected in the alpine. Mostly sunny conditions are expected for Saturday with light alpine wind and freezing levels climbing to around 1800m in the afternoon. A mix of sun and cloud is forecast for Sunday with light alpine wind and afternoon freezing levels around 2000m.

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. A few natural storm slabs up to size 2 were reported on Wednesday.  Wind slabs are concern on Friday in high elevation terrain. Cornices are also expected to be weak right now and wet sluffing is possible at lower elevations that see rainfall.

On Tuesday, 10-20cm of new snow fell. Throughout the storm, extreme westerly winds promoted continued cornice growth and created a widespread wind effect at higher elevations. About 30cm 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 persistent weak layers exist in the snowpack including lingering surface hoar layer from January (down over a meter), and weak basal facets at the bottom of the snowpack. The near-surface crust has dramatically limited the reactivity of these destructive old layers.