Avalanche Forecast

Moderate - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain on Thursday

THURSDAY: Flurries increasing throughout the day with up to 5 cm in the north and up to 10 cm in the south, moderate south wind, freezing level rising to around 1500 m.FRIDAY: Another 10-20 cm of snow and then clearing in the afternoon, light wind, freezing level dropping to around 1000 m.SATURDAY: Mostly sunny with freezing level rising to around 1600 m.

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.Last weekend, a few size 2 natural slab avalanches were reported in the northern part of the region on a range of aspects around 2000 m.

New snow will accumulate on Thursday and Friday and form extra deep deposits in wind loaded terrain. The new snow is falling 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.