Regions
Northwest Inland.
Watch for fresh wind slabs forming at upper elevations through the day.
Confidence
Moderate - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
A storm is forecast to hit the north coast Monday night although not much precipitation will spill over into inland regions. Light precipitation is expected through continue Tuesday with total accumulations of up 6cm by Wednesday morning. Thursday is forecast to be mainly dry. Freezing levels should remain at, or close to valley bottom through the forecast period. Strong southwesterly winds are forecast for Tuesday, becoming light westerlies on Wednesday and variable on Thursday.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been reported for several days; however, observations are very limited.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 5cm new snow now covers a fairly widespread surface hoar layer. Below this 5-15 cm of dry faceted snow sits on a variety of old surfaces including a melt-freeze crust on solar aspects in the alpine, and surface hoar in sheltered areas at treeline and lower elevations. Overall, the snowpack is still quite shallow and weak throughout the region.
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.