Expect to see the first real warmup of the season with clear skies and rising freezing levels through the weekend into next week. This will initially impact the new snow that fell on Friday, especially on solar aspects.
Summary
Confidence
High -
Weather Forecast
SATURDAY: Mix of sun and cloud / light south wind / Alpine temperature -3 / Freezing level 1400m SUNDAY: Mix of sun and cloud / Light to moderate south wind / Alpine temperature 1 / Freezing level 2000m MONDAY: Mix of sun and cloud / Light south wind / Alpine temperature 5 / Freezing level 2500m
Avalanche Summary
No notable avalanches were reported Thursday or Friday. Numerous loose wet avalanches were observed in steep south-facing terrain on Wednesday and Tuesday. Most were small (size 1), but a few in the Coquihalla reached size 2.
Snowpack Summary
New snow accumulating on Thursday and Friday has been redistributed by southerly winds at upper elevations. The new snow sits on a sun crust on steep south-facing slopes, cold dry snow on polar aspects, and wind affected snow at upper elevations.In northern parts of the region the mid-February weak layer is about 40 cm below the surface and has been reactive in some snowpack tests. The layer is composed of sugary facets, a sun crust on solar aspects, and surface hoar that is present at and below treeline. No recent avalanche activity has been reported on these layers. The snowpack is well settled in southern parts of the region (e.g. Coquihalla and Manning Park).Variable winds in the past month have created cornices on many alpine ridgelines. They will become touchier as they grow in size, as temperatures rise, and as the strong late-winter sun shines down upon them on clear days.