Regions
South Coast Inland.
Hazard is expected to rise on Friday with the incoming storm. Uncertainty still exists regarding the reactivity of a buried weak layer that has been most prevalent on shady aspects, at treeline elevations.
Confidence
Moderate - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain
Weather Forecast
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy / Moderate, northwesterly winds / Low 0 C / Freezing level 800 m.THURSDAY: Cloudy with isolated flurries; 0-3 cm. / Strong, southwesterly winds / High 0 C / Freezing level 900 m.FRIDAY: Snow, 5-15 cm. / Moderate to strong, southwesterly winds / High -3 C / Freezing level 700 m. SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy / Moderate, southwesterly winds / High -3 C / Freezing level 600 m.
Avalanche Summary
No avalanches were reported in the region on Tuesday.
Snowpack Summary
On the snow surface, you will likely find a melt-freeze crust on southerly aspects to the top of the mountain and wind effected snow in the alpine. Around 30 to 50 cm down is a melt-freeze crust to mountain top on southerly aspects, a crust below around 1700 m on all aspects, and feathery surface hoar in areas sheltered by the wind at all elevation bands. The distribution of the surface hoar seems to be spotty but may be most pronounced on west, north, and east aspects between 1700 m and 2000 m. There have not been any recently reported avalanches on this layer.Below this, the snowpack is generally well-settled and strong in most locations.
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.