Avoid avalanche terrain. Sunday's atmospheric river will bring the heaviest rain and snow yet.
Widespread natural activity is expected at all elevations.
Avoid avalanche terrain, heavy snow will rapidly load start zones. Treeline and below will likely receive a mix of wet snow and rain. At low elevations where precipitation will mostly be rain, destructive wet avalanches are likely.
Avalanche danger is expected to be highest in the west where the storm is forecast to be more severe.
The likelihood of wet avalanche activity will increase as more rain saturates the snowpack at lower elevations. Wet avalanches are dense and destructive and can travel further than you expect. Avoid crossing the runout of avalanche paths.
Natural activity was reported on Friday, with dry snow avalanches at high elevations and wet avalanches at lower elevations where significant rain was received. Terrain that experienced sunny breaks on Friday also saw increased natural activity within the storm snow. Check out the field teams MIN for more information.
Widespread natural activity is expected to continue with more snow and rain over Saturday.
Below 1000 m heavy rainfall over several days has continued to saturate the snowpack creating wet snow.
Above 1000m, storm snow accumulations will reach 60 cm in the east and may exceed 1 m in the east. Above 1500 m snow is expected to be mostly dry, and redistributed into deeper deposits on north-facing terrain features by strong southerly winds. Between 1000-1500 m a mix of dry and moist snow can be found.
The storm snow sits over a melt-freeze crust at mid-elevations, and over settling dry snow at high elevations on shaded slopes. The middle and lower snowpack is strong and well-bonded.
Saturday Night
Snowfall returns near midnight above 1000m, and rain below. Precipitation is heaviest in the west as usual, with 40mm likely to produce 20 cm of snow, and 20mm in the east likely to produce 10 cm of snow. Strong southerly winds.
Sunday
The storm becomes even more intense. Strong to extreme southerly winds are expected in all areas.
East Island: Up to 50 mm is expected over the day, producing 25 cm of snow above 1000 m, and rain below.
West Island/Sutton Pass: Snow levels around 500 m, with 100mm producing up to 50 cm of wet snow and rain below.
Monday
Mostly cloudy with light southwest winds. No snowfall is expected. Freezing levels around 1000 m.
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy with light southwest winds. Trace amounts of snow are possible. Freezing levels around 1000 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
