Avalanche Forecast

Strong southwesterly winds result in an onshore flow of a cool, and unstable air mass. This brings moderate to heavy snow at upper elevations for the Vancouver Island ranges and the Coast Mountains.

Tuesday Night: 10-15 mm of precipitation expected with strong southwest winds. Freezing levels 1400 m bringing snow to upper elevations. 

Wednesday: Another 10 mm of precipitation falling as snow above 1300 m. Strong southwest wind continues.

Thursday: Drying and cooling trend with the freezing level dropping to 1000 m with light northwest winds at ridgetopn and clearing skies.

On Tuesday, numerous size 1 wet loose avalanches were reported at below treeline elevations. Poor visibility made for limited alpine observations. 

On Monday, our field team observed widespread natural avalanche activity size 1-2.5. A skier-triggered size 2 storm slab was reported at Mt Cain on Sunday in this MIN.

The recent storm snow is topped with a thin freezing rain crust and 5 cm of recent moist snow. Within the 40-60 cm of new snow, a wet layer on the surface is stacked on top of lower density, dry snow. This configuration is referred to as upside-down and is often associated with short-term instability while the soft bottom settles. Above ~1900 m, the surface remains dry and has seen extensive wind effect, with extremely variable depths and areas of hard wind slab.

The storm snow sits over a thin layer of weak crystals on a thick, widespread rain crust which makes a great sliding surface for avalanches. This crust is capping a well settled and strong mid and lower snowpack. Shallow snow cover at low elevations leaves many hazards like stumps and creeks exposed at or just below the snow surface.

• Minimize exposure during periods of heavy loading from new snow, wind or rain.
• Use increased caution at all elevations. Storm snow is forming touchy slabs.
• Keep in mind the crust offers an excellent bed surface for avalanches.
• Keep in mind that wet avalanches can be destructive due to their high density.