Regions
Northwest Coastal.
Confidence
Fair - Due to limited field observations
Weather Forecast
A frontal system will spread light to moderate snowfall and strong SW winds on Thursday. Expect 20-30cm in coastal areas and 10-15cm near Terrace. The freezing level should be around 1000m. Conditions dry out and cool on Friday and Saturday under a NW flow. The freezing level should remain at valley bottom and upper level winds are moderate from the NW.
Avalanche Summary
Observations from Bear Pass include several natural avalanches up to Size 2.5, primarily in response to rising westerly winds on Tuesday. There are no new observations from other areas but I suspect natural avalanche activity continued on Tuesday as another storm dumped 30-50cm of new snow.
Snowpack Summary
Coastal areas are reporting a very deep and strong snowpack (+4m in some areas). Isolated wind slabs and lingering storm snow instabilities are likely over the next couple days. A buried surface hoar layer may be found down 100-150cm near Terrace, but there is no recent information on the presence and sensitivity of this layer.
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.
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.