Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Northwest Coastal.
Confidence
Fair - Due to limited field observationsfor the entire period
Weather Forecast
Tuesday: Expect another 30-40cm, especially in southern coastal areas, with freezing levels as high as 700m and strong southwesterly winds.Wednesday: Continued moderate snowfall in southern coastal areas with another 30-40cm possible. Freezing levels back down to valley bottoms and strong southwesterly winds.Thursday: Another pulse of moderate snowfall is expected.
Avalanche Summary
No recent avalanche have been reported, but I suspect natural avalanche activity occurred in response to recent heavy loading from snow and especially wind. I expect natrual avalanche activity to continue as long as it's snowing asn blowing, and the potential for human-triggering to remain for the forecast period.
Snowpack Summary
As of Monday afternoon, recent storm snow totals were in the 30-60cm range. Varying temperature, precipitation intensity, and wind throughout the recent storm, as well as surface hoar on the previous snow surface, has probably resulted in various weaknesses within and under the recent storm snow. Previous storm snow weaknesses could also be lurking in the upper snowpack. The mid and lower snowpack is generally well settled and strong with an old rain crust near the ground.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Very Likely
Expected Size: 2 - 5
Storm Slabs
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Likely - Very Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 4