The weather pattern starts to change to a mild and moist southwest flow on Thursday. Expect temperatures to rise Thursday with precipitation likely later in the day.
Confidence
Fair - Freezing levels are uncertain
Weather Forecast
The weather pattern will shift to a milder and wetter southwest flow starting on Thursday. Clouds increase and light to moderate precipitation should begin by Thursday afternoon. Another pulse of precipitation is expected Friday afternoon into Saturday morning. Temperatures and freezing levels vary significantly from south to north. They could rise to 2000 m south of Whistler by Friday afternoon, and should hover near 1000 m north of Whistler. Ridge top winds are moderate to strong from the Southwest.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches reported in the past few days.
Snowpack Summary
Surface hoar and near surface facets are reported to be growing during the cold and clear weather. Strong Northeast outflow winds have created 10-40 cm deep wind slabs since Friday, and recent strong and variable winds have since loaded and reverse loaded the light dry snow that came at the end of the storm. Below this new snow is a solid weight bearing crust in all but the highest alpine slopes. There is a chance that a consolidated slab exists in some areas in the alpine above a deeply buried crust from earlier in November.
Problems
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.