Cooler temperatures should help stabilize the snowpack, but the snow quality might be less than desirable in many places.
Summary
Confidence
Moderate - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain
Weather Forecast
Saturday: Cloudy with a chance of flurries. The freezing level drops to 1200-1300 m. Ridge winds are light or moderate from the W-NW. Sunday: Moderate snow overnight (around 10-15 cm), then cloudy with flurries and sunny breaks. The freezing level rises back to 1500 m and winds are moderate from the SW. Monday: Moderate or locally heavy precipitation. The freezing level shoots to around 1800 m and ridge winds are strong from the W-SW.
Avalanche Summary
There were no new reports of avalanche activity on Thursday. Earlier in the week there were several loose wet slides up to size associated with warm temperatures and strong sunshine.
Snowpack Summary
Around 10 cm of moist snow (at the time of writing) overlies a melt-freeze crust at lower elevations and on solar aspects. Moderate southerly winds have probably created fresh dense wind slabs on exposed leeward slopes. An older buried crust can be found down 40cm, and it extends well up into the alpine. Below this, a thick slab rests on a layer of surface hoar that was buried earlier in January. This layer is 80-130 cm deep and continues to pose a low probability/ high consequence threat, producing sudden planar fractures in snowpack tests under moderate to heavy loads. It should remain on your radar until the snowpack cools off again. A rain crust from early December sits near the base of the snowpack.
pmarshall,
Avalanche Canada
