Regions
Northwest Coastal.
Snow, wind and warming are creating a good recipe for avalanches in the south-west of the region. Expect better conditions further north and east.
Confidence
Moderate - Track of incoming weather systems is uncertain
Weather Forecast
MONDAY: Strong south-west winds. 10-20 cm snow (locally more in the south-west). Alpine temperature near -1.TUESDAY: Light winds. 5 cm snow. Alpine temperature near -2.WEDNESDAY: Light winds. 5-10 cm snow. Alpine temperature near -7.
Avalanche Summary
Few avalanches have been reported over the past few days, but avalanche activity is expected to increase as storm snow comes in with warming and strong winds.
Snowpack Summary
The snowpack is variable across the region. Wind slabs can be found on a variety of slopes. New snow is expected to create touchy storm slabs in the south and west, but amounts should peter out as you travel north and east.A surface hoar/facet interface that was buried on New Years Eve is down about 30-40 cm. Incoming storm snow might bring the load above this layer to its tipping point. A hard crust from mid-December sits deeper in the snowpack. Beneath the mid-December crust the snowpack is reported to be generally strong with the possible exception of areas around Stewart and northern parts of the region where the late-October crust can be found near the base of the snowpack. Weak sugary faceted snow may exist around this deeply buried crust and could be triggered from shallow snowpack areas.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.