Regions
South Coast Inland.
Small wind slabs can be found on isolated terrain features.
Weather Forecast
TUESDAY: Cloudy with sunny periods/ Light to moderate east winds / Alpine temperature high -9C WEDNESDAY: Mainly cloudy with scattered flurries beginning overnight/ Light to moderate south east winds/ Alpine temperature high -5CTHURSDAY: Mix of sun and clouds with isolated flurries and new snow amounts up to 5 cm / Light to moderate south west winds/ Alpine temperature high -9C
Avalanche Summary
Skiers and snowmobilers have recently triggered wind slabs avalanches up to size 1 on alpine slopes and cross-loaded features. These wind slabs failed on older firm surfaces or facets approximately 40 cm down.
Snowpack Summary
10-20 cm of low density snow covers a variety of old surfaces. These include firm wind affected snow (either scoured or hard wind slab) in alpine and treeline terrain as well as sugary faceted snow, sun crusts on steep solar aspects, surface hoar in sheltered areas. The mid and lower snowpack is generally well-settled.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.