Sea To Sky

Reactive storm slabs will build over the day, as new snow falls on weak surfaces. Keep decision-making conservative and head to simple terrain if you see more than 30 cm of new snow.

Wind slab activity increased on Friday, with riders triggered size 1-2 wind slabs on Friday.

Natural avalanche activity is possible on Sunday as snow and wind develop sensitive slabs over weak snow surfaces.

By Sunday evening, up to 40 cm of new snow is expected in Western areas, around 20 cm is expected for Whistler. This storm snow will fall over a variety of weak surfaces, including a crust on south facing slopes and low elevations, and faceted snow and/or small surface hoar in sheltered terrain. This facet/surface hoar layer is buried around 60-90 cm deep and is most prevalent at treeline and above.

The mid snowpack includes layers of facets and areas of isolated surface hoar found at treeline and above. Just below, a widespread, thick crust exists. This problematic combination remains a concern as load increases above it.

Saturday Night

Cloudy with 5-15 cm of snow expected. 40-60 km/h southwest winds. Freezing levels around 1200 m.

Sunday

Cloudy with up to 20 cm of snow expected. 40-60 m/hr southwest winds gusting up to 90 km/hr in exposed high elevation areas. Treeline temperature -4 with freezing levels around 1200 m.

Monday

Mostly cloudy with scattered flurries bringing up to 5 cm of new snow. 30-40 km/h westerly wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C with freezing level falling to 500 m.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy with no snow expected. 20-30 km/h westerly winds. Treeline temperature -10 °C with freezing levels at valley bottom.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• If triggered, storm slabs in-motion may step down to deeper layers and result in very large avalanches.
• Storm slab size and sensitivity to triggering will likely increase through the day.
• Potential for wide propagation exists, fresh slabs may rest on surface hoar, facets and/or crust.