Regions
South Coast Inland.
There is low confidence in this forecast due to limited observations. As always, and especially when confidence is low, it is essential to supplement this information with your own observations. and don't forget to post them to the MIN!
Weather Forecast
A mix of sun and cloud and generally dry for Tuesday before a weak storm pushes through overnight Tuesday with 2-5 cm expected by Wednesday afternoon, accompanied by moderate southwesterly ridgetop winds. Another dry day is expected for Thursday. Daytime high freezing levels are expected to hover around 900 m for the forecast period.
Avalanche Summary
No new reports from the alpine. Duffey Lake highways patrol recorded numerous size 2.0 and one size 3.0 storm slab avalanches on Friday.
Snowpack Summary
Another 10-15cm of fresh snow brings treeline snowpack depths to around 140 cm in the Duffey Lake area, but only around 60 cm in Coquihalla Pass. Slopes that were loaded by southwest winds during recent storms may have developed deep pockets of weak wind slabs. A thick crust can likely be found in the mid-pack down 50-70 cm at treeline elevations or deeper in the alpine. Buried surface hoar has also been reported in the early season snowpack.
Problems
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.