New storm slabs continue to develop in the alpine and at treeline. Watch for conditions that change with elevation.
Summary
Confidence
Moderate - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain
Weather Forecast
Expect 5-10 cm of new snow overnight combined with moderate southwest winds and freezing levels dropping down to about 800 metres. Saturday should remain cool with freezing levels below 1200 metres, with light precipitation and moderate southerly winds. Warmer air is forecast for Sunday bringing freezing levels back up to about 1500 metres combined with 3-8 cm of snow and strong westerly winds. Monday is the warmest and wettest day, precipitation amounts have dropped over the last few model runs, but expect 10-15 mm with strong winds and high freezing levels.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches reported. See MIN (Mountain Information Network) posts for avalanche activity during the last storm.
Snowpack Summary
New storm slabs are starting to develop in the alpine as 5-10 cm of new snow arrived on Friday. High freezing levels (around 1800 metres) has settled the upper snowpack and developed variable crusts due to overnight cooling. New surface hoar has been reported from the Coquihalla area, that may be buried down 10-20 cm. Conditions across the region are variable. Most areas have not had a freeze below treeline since the last wet storm. A crust that formed after a warm storm at the end of January is now down 50-80 cm. and it does not appear to "bridge" the early January weak layer in the Duffey lake area. This deeply buried persistent weak layer from early January appears to be isolated to the north of the region, and is now buried down about 50-80 cm. This layer continues to produce sudden results in snowpack tests and has been responsible for recent destructive avalanches.
triley,
Avalanche Canada
