Regions
Northwest Coastal.
Wind slabs may be found on several aspects at higher elevations due to the changing wind directions.
Weather Forecast
Tonight: High overcast with some broken skies, a chance of flurries, moderate northwest winds and at least -10 in the alpine. Wednesday: Mix of sun and cloud with moderate northwest winds and close to -15 in the alpine. Thursday: Mostly sunny with a chance of strong northeast outflow winds developing. Friday: Clear with moderate to strong northeast winds and -15 in the alpine.
Avalanche Summary
Some size 1.0 soft slab or loose snow avalanches were reported on Monday from areas just west and north of Terrace, and some small wind slabs were skier controlled in areas near Stewart. No new natural avalanches reported.
Snowpack Summary
Overcast skies and a couple of cm of new snow has not changed the snowpack structure since the weekend. A new layer of surface hoar may have been buried overnight or early Monday morning. Clear cold weather and shifting winds have created a variety of surface conditions including isolated wind slabs, pockets of soft snow (15-25 cm deep), sun crusts, and surface hoar. A supportive rain crust exists below 1000 m. A layer of surface hoar that was buried on February 10th can be found buried 30-60 cm deep at treeline elevations and has been reactive in some recent snowpack tests. Below this layer, the snowpack is generally settled and strong. The exception is shallow snowpack areas around Bear Pass and Ningunsaw where basal facets remain an ongoing concern.
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.