Summary
Confidence
Fair - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather is uncertain on Friday
Weather Forecast
Wednesday: Possible sunny breaks with isolated flurries, winds moderate from the west and alpine temperatures -8. Freezing level rising to 1000m.Thursday: Light snow, winds light from the southwest and alpine temperatures of -6. Freezing level rising to 1400m.Friday: Light snow throughout the day, light southwesterly winds and alpine temperatures -1. Freezing level rising to 1400.
Avalanche Summary
Recent reports indicate ski cuts, skier remote and natural loose snow avalanches to size 1.5 isolated to the storm snow.
Snowpack Summary
In much of the region, up to 65 cm recent snow overlies weak interfaces buried in mid-February (mainly surface hoar/ sun crust layers). The storm slab above these interfaces has the potential for wide propagations and surprisingly large avalanches, especially where winds have shifted the snow into slabs in the lee of terrain breaks. A thin freezing rain/rime crust formed on Friday, which is now buried by about 15-30cm snow. In the Rossland Range, surface hoar which was buried mid-week is 20-30 cm down and exhibits easy, sudden results in snowpack tests. As more snow builds over this layer, it could become touchy.Older snowpack weaknesses buried in the upper snowpack (Feb 4th and Jan 23 surface hoar/facet/sun crust layers) are still being tracked by professionals. There is some potential for triggering one of these deeper layers with a large trigger like an avalanche in motion, or from a thin-spot trigger point. The lower snowpack is generally well settled.
mbender,
Avalanche Canada
