Regions
Northwest Inland.
When the sun comes out it will quickly weaken the surface snow. Watch for signs that the snow is heating up such as pin-wheeling or the snow surface becoming moist.
Confidence
Moderate - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
MONDAY: Mix of sun and cloud. Light northeasterly ridgetop winds. Alpine temperature -3. Freezing level around 1100 m.TUESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud. Light southwesterly ridgetop winds. Alpine temperature -3. Freezing level around 1100 m.WEDNESDAY: Mostly cloudy with sunny breaks. Light southwesterly ridgetop winds. Alpine temperature -2. Freezing level around 1200 m.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were reported in this region on Saturday. On Wednesday, an explosive triggered size 2.5 deep persistent slab on a west aspect between 1000-1300 m was reported near Ningunsaw.
Snowpack Summary
Lingering wind slabs on convex features below ridgetops may still be reactive to human triggers.Weak layers buried around March 19th are roughly 40 cm below the surface (up to 100 cm in deeper snowpack areas). These weak layers include surface hoar on shaded aspects at high elevations and hard crusts on solar aspects and below treeline.Near the bottom of the snowpack, sugary facets are found in shallow, rocky snowpack areas. Storm slab avalanches have "stepped-down" to these facets and produced very large avalanches in the far northern parts of the region.
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.
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.