If winds pick up in your area, expect the danger to be considerable in the alpine. Wind slabs may build very quickly. However, forecast wind values are uncertain.
Confidence
Fair - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain
Weather Forecast
Monday: Cold with some flurries. Freezing level near surface.Tuesday: Light snow. Westerly winds. Cold.Wednesday: Moderate-heavy snow (poor confidence in Wednesday's snowfall amounts at this stage - stay posted).
Avalanche Summary
Skiers triggered slabs up to size 2 in the Coquihalla region on Saturday (incident reports here: https://avalanche.ca/cac/library/incident-report-database/view). In other parts of the region, storm snow was failing naturally and reacting easily to ski cuts. These results involved the storm snow and did not dig down to any deeper weaknesses.
Snowpack Summary
20-40cm of dry new snow has landed on a hard supportive crust in the Coquihalla area and dry facets in the Duffey Lake area. Snowpack tests showed a poor bond to the old surfaces on Saturday and improved results on Sunday. West to south-westerly winds created soft slabs, which seem to have gained strength. If winds increase again, new wind slabs are likely to form quickly as there is plenty of dry new snow available to be transported.Deeper in the snowpack, two persistent weak layers remain a concern only in thin snowpack areas (perhaps wind-scoured zones or relatively dry eastern ranges) and particularly in steep rocky terrain or sheltered, low-snowpack terrain. The two layers are surface hoar and/or facets associated with a crust from mid-December and sugary facets at the base of the snowpack.
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.
Loose Dry
Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.