Incoming precipitation with strong S-SW winds will create wind-slabs at treeline and above on existing crusts. Surface hoar has formed in protected locations. Careful terrain evaluation will be important during this next storm cycle.
Confidence
Fair - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain
Weather Forecast
The high pressure ridge and warm temperatures will remain for today, then move off to the east as a cold front moves onto the south coast on Thursday afternoon bringing rain to lower regions and 20 to 30 cm of snow to upper elevations. Freezing levels will remain high as the front approaches, then drop to around 1000m. Friday and Saturday we'll see a break in the systems, them more precipitation on Sunday.
Avalanche Summary
No report of avalanche activity from yesterday, but there have been reports of snowballing on steep solar aspects.
Snowpack Summary
The snowpack in the Sea to Sky is pretty much static right now. There is a surface crust on most of the snowpack above 1500 metres. Breakable crust below 1500 metres. Soft snow and surface hoar development to ridge tops on protected North aspects.
Problems
Persistent Slabs
Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.