Assess for drifts and stiff wind slabs in exposed terrain. Cohesive slabs formed on the surface may take some time to bond to the underlying layers.
Check out the most recent Forecasters Blog, explaining how to manage extreme cold conditions.
Cold, northerly winds are redistributing the new, low-density, snow into drifts and firm wind slabs. With cold temperatures, wind slabs will take longer then usual to stabilize and bond to the underlying, hard layers.
No new avalanches have been reported in the past few days.
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Roughly 50 cm of recent low-density snow continues to be redistributed by northerly winds at upper elevations.
The new snow is poorly bonded in areas to the underlying snowpack, which consists of a variety of firm, previously wind-affected surfaces and crusts. In sheltered terrain at lower elevations, the new snow sits on large surface hoar and a sun crust on solar aspects.
The lower snowpack is generally well settled and bonding well.
At treeline the snowpack depth is roughly 200 cm.
Cold arctic air continues to blanket Southwest BC until Friday when a warm and wet storm begins to move inland.
Wednesday night
Clear. temperatures -20 to -30 C and light to moderate easterly winds in the alpine.
Thursday
Sunny with periods of cloud. No Precipitation. Temperatures -20 to -30 C and light to moderate easterly winds in the alpine.
Friday
Cloudy with snow, 10 to 20 cm. Temperatures of -5 to -15 C and moderate to strong southwest winds. Freezing levels rise to around 1000 m.
Saturday
Cloudy with a mix of snow and rain, roughly 20 cm. Temperatures around 0 C, strong winds in the alpine. Freezing levels rise to around 1600 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
