Watch for unstable snow in isolated areas and extreme terrain where wind slabs exist.
Weather Forecast
A low pressure system sliding down the BC coast and will deliver light precipitation to the area today with trace amounts of accumulation. Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries, alpine high of -11.0, ridge winds SW 20-30 km/hr, freezing level at 500m. We will see a return to sun and frigid temperatures Monday.
Snowpack Summary
15cm of settled snow on old wind slabs in the alpine. In sheltered areas the recent snow is covering surface hoar and facets. A crust on steep solar aspects makes for difficult traveling conditions, both uphill and down. The mid and lower snowpack is well settled and strong. Wind and new snow will likely create isolated soft slabs by tomorrow.
Avalanche Summary
Three size 1.5 and one size 2.0 natural avalanches were observed in south facing avalanches paths in the highway corridor east of Rogers Pass. The avalanches were loose release resulting from solar input. A recent MIN report was received of a small skier triggered slab avalanche in the Connaught slide path that released on a near-surface crust.
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.