Avalanche Forecast
Regions: East Island, North Island, South Island, Vancouver Island.
Avalanche danger will increase throughout the day on Friday as new snow and wind could form unstable slabs at upper elevations.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
Our field team observed small loose wet avalanches out of steep south aspects near Mt Cain on Wednesday. Storm slabs and wind slabs will be the main concern as new snow accumulates.
Snowpack Summary
10 to 20 cm of new snow will fall on Friday, with deeper deposits in lee terrain. In most areas this snow is falling on moist or crusty snow layers, except shaded terrain above roughly 1600 m where the snow has remained dry over the past week. The middle and lower snowpack are strong and bonded.
Weather Summary
Thursday night
Cloudy, scattered flurries starting after midnight with 1 to 3 cm of snow, 40 to 50 km/h south wind, treeline temperatures around -4 °C with freezing level dropping to 500 m.
Friday
Flurries increasing in intensity in the afternoon, 10 to 20 cm of snow, 50 to 70 km/h south wind, treeline temperatures around -2 °C with freezing level around 600 m.
SaturdayScattered flurries with 5 to 10 cm of snow, 30 km/h southwest wind, treeline temperatures around -3 °C with freezing level around 400 m.
SundayScattered flurries with 5 cm of snow, light wind, treeline temperatures around -2 °C with freezing level around 600 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Watch for avalanche hazard to increase throughout the day.
- Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.
- Dial back your terrain choices if you are seeing more than 20 cm of new snow.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
New slabs will rapidly form on steep wind-loaded slopes on Friday. Pay attention to snowfall rates and to where the wind is depositing snow.
Aspects: North, North East, East, West, North West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 2