Avalanche Forecast

Fair - Freezing levels are uncertain

The Northwest Coastal region should see some sunny skies and dry out a bit before the next light Pacific system arrives late Tuesday. Freezing levels should drop close to valley bottom overnight and rise during the day to around 1200m.For more information check out the Mountain Weather Forecast at: http://www.avalanche.ca/weather

Reports from late yesterday tell of numerous large, size 2 and 3,  natural and explosive controlled storm slab avalanches above 1000m as well as loose-wet natural avalanches between 1000 to 1500m.

Strong southwest winds will have built dense slabs on lee features, and added additional load to the previous storm slab. Commercial operators are reporting 100+cm of new snow from the most recent storm ! There are a variety of old buried layers that include hard wind slabs, hard crusts, surface hoar, and/or surface facets. The recent lack of large avalanches suggests reasonable bonds at these interfaces, but we I would remain cautious of steeper, high-consequence slopes. A release on any of these buried layers could be large and destructive . At the base of the snowpack, weak facets may be found, particularly on shallow alpine slopes in the north of the region. Cornices are continuing to grow and will be potentially unstable. Recent rapid loading and strong winds are a major concern right now. Operators are estimating 50+cm of storm snow at upper elevations.