Avalanche Forecast

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A low pressure system sliding up the Oregon and Washington coast is expected to bring 15-25 cm of new snow combined with moderate southwest winds tonight. Most of this precipitation is expected in the Allison Pass and Coquihalla Pass areas. Less new snow is expected in the North of the region. Light variable snowfall is expected to continue on Saturday with freezing levels around 1000 metres. Sunday should remain unsettled, with a chance of broken skies. The next system should slide down the coast from the Northwest on Sunday evening or Monday morning.

No new reports from the alpine. Duffey Lake highways patrol recorded numerous size 2.0 and one size 3.0 storm slab avalanches on Friday.

Heavy snowfall overnight resulted in 30-50 cm of new snow in the alpine in the North of the region, and 20-30 cm in the South of the region. This new snow has settled into a storm slab on all aspects in the alpine and at treeline, and has resulted in natural avalanche activity. Terrain that was loaded by southwest winds during last nights storm may have developed deep pockets of wind transported snow. Relatively warm temperatures are expected to promote settlement. Average alpine snow depths are about 150 cm but may be quite variable due to winds during recent loading. A thick crust can likely be found in the mid-pack down 50-70 cm at treeline elevations or deeper in the alpine. Buried surface hoar has also been reported in the early season snowpack. When traveling in the mountains, maintain an investigative approach and dig down to test for weak layers before committing to a slope. If you have been in the mountains, please share your observations on our Mountain Information Network.