Vancouver Island

New snow and wind loading at upper elevations have likely formed reactive wind slabs, particularly on north through east–facing slopes.

Moderate

• We are uncertain about forecast precipitation amounts.
• We are uncertain due to the variability of wind effect on the snowpack.

No new avalanches reported on Monday.

Expect to see reactive wind slabs in the alpine and tree line as precipitation accumulates and the wind picks up over the next couple of days.

At upper elevations, there may be 10-20 cm of new snow adding to the 100 cm that fell last weekend. In some areas it may sit on a layer of surface hoar. The likeliest place to find this layer still preserved is sheltered areas at and below tree line. There is uncertainty with its distribution and reactivity at this time.

A crust from early February is down 90 to 150 cm and in most areas appears to be well bonded.

The remainder of the snowpack is well settled. The snowpack depth at treeline ranges from 95 to 200 cm, and there is still very little snow below treeline.

Wednesday Night

Cloudy. 5 to 15 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 40-60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1100 m.

Thursday

Cloudy. 3 to 10 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 30-50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.

Friday

Mostly cloudy. 1 to 5 cm of snow. 20-40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 900 m.

Saturday

Mostly sunny. 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1300 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Pay attention to isolated wind affected features in the alpine, as well as cross-loaded features at treeline.
• Back off if you encounter whumpfing, hollow sounds, or shooting cracks.
• Recent strong wind means wind slabs may be found farther downslope than expected.
• Surface hoar distribution is highly variable. Avoid generalizing your observations.