Summary
Confidence
Fair - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain
Weather Forecast
Cloudy with light precipitation and light southwest winds overnight. Freezing levels dropping to valley bottoms and remaining there until Wednesday. Snow ( 3-5 cm) ending Monday afternoon with a chance of clear skies by late afternoon as the cold arctic air arrives with moderate to strong northerly winds. Tuesday should be clear and cold with moderate northerly winds, expect alpine lows around -20. Wednesday is expected to continue to be cold and clear with a chance that freezing levels will rise up to about 800 metres.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches reported.
Snowpack Summary
Moderate northerly winds have created some thin windslabs from re-distributing the 5-20 cm of snow that is available for transport at alpine elevations. The surface snow has become facetted due to the cold overnight temperatures, and a new layer of surface hoar has been reported in some areas. Strong solar radiation has resulted in a thin breakable melt-freeze crust on southerly aspects at all elevations. The mid-February crust is reported to be strong, and has been stripped of new snow in many areas by northerly winds. The late-Jan crust/surface hoar layer (up to 100 cm deep) and the mid-January surface hoar (80-120 cm deep) are generally dormant, and chances of triggering these weaknesses have decreased dramatically. However, triggering may be possible with a large input such as cornice fall, or an avalanche stepping down, especially on slopes that see a lot of sun.
triley,
Avalanche Canada
