Avalanche Forecast
Regions: East Island, North Island, Vancouver Island, West Island.
Take note of upper snowpack conditions as you move through terrain. Travel with caution where there is a surface crust or heavy, grabby snow. Where the surface is wet, avoid steep slopes if snow pinwheels or snowballs down the slope, or looks and feels like a slurpee.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
On Friday and Saturday, numerous, small, skier triggered wet loose avalanches were reported in steep terrain around treeline.
Snowpack Summary
Most rideable terrain was soaked by rain during the recent storm. Watch for a new crust to form on the surface between 1700 and 1000 m as the temperature slowly drops the next few days. Where dry snow remains, at very high elevations, there may be deep, reactive windslabs leftover from the strong to extreme south winds during the storm. In transitional elevations between dry and wet/freezing snow, moderate southeast winds Sunday morning may have formed thin, reactive windslabs over the new crust.
Snowpack depths at treeline are around 100 cm, tapering quickly with elevation. Although the snowpack in most forested areas below treeline remains below threshold depths for avalanches, many steep bluffs, cutbanks, and alpine features in the upper below treeline band are capable of producing avalanches.
Weather Summary
Sunday Night
Cloudy. 0-5 cm of snow expected. Snow/rain line around 1000 m. Moderate southeast wind trending to light by the morning.
Monday
Cloudy. Possible trace of snow. Up to 5cm around Mt. Washington, 5mm of rain on the western slopes of the island. Light southwest wind, increasing to moderate through the day. Snow/rain line around 1000 m.
Tuesday
Possible clear periods overnight. Mostly cloudy through the day. 3 cm of snow expected. Moderate rain in the southwest of the region. Light south alpine winds becoming strong through the day. Freezing around 900m.
Wednesday
Cloudy morning, possible sunny afternoon. 0-10 cm of snow expected overnight, heavy rain in the southwest of the region. Strong south alpine winds becoming moderate northwest through the day.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.
- When a thick, melt-freeze surface crust is present, avalanche activity is unlikely.
- Loose avalanches may start small but they can grow and push you into dangerous terrain.
Avalanche Problems
Loose Wet
A high freezing level brought heavy rain, which soaked and weakened the surface snow. As freezing levels drop, this wet snow will likely freeze into a crust and become less likely to avalanche. Watch for signs of instability like snowballing, pinwheeling, and deep slush on the surface.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Treeline, Below Treeline.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2