Conditions will remain spring-like over the weekend.
Confidence
Fair - The weather pattern is stable
Weather Forecast
A ridge will build over the weekend signaling an end to the wetness although freezing levels are forecast to remain high (between 1500-2000m throughout the forecast period. Light rain will continue overnight Friday into early Saturday accompanied by moderate westerly winds. A clearing trend is expected for Sunday with light northwesterly winds. The region should be mainly dry and sunny by Monday with light northerly winds.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanche have been reported recently although I expect thin wind slabs could be reactive in the high alpine and loose wet avalanche are probably still popping on steep alpine slopes that see brief periods of sun.
Snowpack Summary
It's definitely not your typical early February coastal snowpack. Upper elevations in the North of the region have received between 5 and 10 cm of new moist snow while rain fell below 2000m. Continued warm temperatures are encouraging the settlement of the upper snowpack. The supportive crust that formed up to 2100m earlier in February can now be found down about 70 to 100cm in the alpine. Wet slushy snow sitting above the crust is making for difficult riding conditions at and below treeline.
Problems
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.
Wet Slabs
Wet Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) that is generally moist or wet when the flow of liquid water weakens the bond between the slab and the surface below (snow or ground). They often occur during prolonged warming events and/or rain-on-snow events. Wet Slabs can be very unpredictable and destructive.