Avalanche Forecast
Regions: South Coast.
Light snowfall continues to accumulate snow over a hard crust. Slab avalanches in the new snow are most likely to be triggered in wind loaded terrain features.
Confidence
Moderate - Uncertainty is due to how quickly the snowpack will recover and gain strength.
Weather Forecast
Saturday night: Light snow, around 5 cm. Freezing level 500 m. Light southwest wind below 1500m, moderate to strong west-northwest wind around 2000 m.
Sunday: Light snow, around 5 cm. Freezing level 1100 m. Light southwest wind increasing to moderate.
Monday: Light snow, around 10 cm. Freezing level 1000 m. Strong southwest winds affecting all elevations.
Tuesday: Flurries. Freezing level 500 m. Light southwest wind.
Avalanche Summary
On Thursday, skier triggered storm slab avalanches size 1-2 were reported on all aspects. The new snow is sitting on a hard rain crust and may remain reactive to human triggers; especially in wind loaded features.
Snowpack Summary
5-10 cm of new snow brings recent snow totals to 20-30 cm on top of a hard rain crust that exists all the way to the tops of the North Shore mountains. These storm slabs are most likely to be reactive where they are wind affected.
The snowpack below the rain crust is well settled and strong in most areas.
Watch North Shore Rescue's latest snowpack update here.
Terrain and Travel
- Expect slab conditions to change drastically as you move into wind exposed terrain.
- Recent wind has varied in direction so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.
- Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the crust.
- Keep in mind the crust offers an excellent bed surface for avalanches.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Winds blew hard from the southwest then turned northwest leaving exposed areas highly variable. The recent snow sits above a hard crust and could be easily triggered where wind deposits exist.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South, North West.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Possible - Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 2