Regions
Northwest Coastal.
Danger ratings remain elevated due to continued snowfall and very strong winds on Thursday.
Confidence
Poor - Due to limited field observations
Weather Forecast
Conditions will gradually start to dry out on Friday as a ridge of high pressure builds over the province. Winds should ease to moderate from the NW on Friday morning and remain in the light to moderate range throughout the weekend. A mix of sun and cloud is expected on Saturday. Sunday should be mainly cloudy with a chance of flurries. The freezing level should hover around 600-800m throughout the forecast period.
Avalanche Summary
Recent avalanche control work along the northern highway corridors have produced results up to Size 3, mainly involving the recent storm snow. I suspect a natural avalanche cycle is likely late Thursday and into Friday in response to the forecast cranking winds and 15-30cm of snow.
Snowpack Summary
Very strong SW-NW winds may wreak havoc on the snowpack creating scoured areas and soft or hard wind slabs in exposed lee terrain and cross-loaded gullies or terrain features. Coastal areas are reporting a very deep and strong snowpack - at or near record levels for this time of year. A buried surface hoar layer may be found down 100-150cm near Terrace, but there is no recent information on the presence and sensitivity of this layer.
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.
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.