Weather Forecast
Tuesday: Flurries starting around midday. Accumulations shouldn't be greater than a few cm. Winds light from the southwest. Freezing level around 800 m. Wednesday: A ridge of high pressure forms, which is associated with a short-lived incursion of cold, northerly air. Expect some good periods of sunshine. Morning temperatures will be around -10C, but temperatures will rise rapidly during the day, with afternoon freezing levels peaking at around 1000 m. Thursday: A weak frontal system moves in bringing around 5 cm new snow and elevating freezing levels slightly to around 1200 m.
Avalanche Summary
Glide crack activity up to size 2.5 has been reported recently in the Coquilhalla at treeline and below. Glide avalanches are hard to predict but often happen during periods of warm weather or when the sun is shining. Avoid riding in terrain below glide cracks, or below slopes comprised of smooth rock slabs. No other avalanche activity has been reported.
Snowpack Summary
A skiff of snow has buried an assortment of old snow surfaces comprising, depending on location, crusts, old wind slab, surface hoar and surface facets. The crusts formed on all aspects at lower elevations and on steep solar aspects higher up. Old wind slabs were on a variety of aspects behind exposed terrain features, and were particularly prominent in the Coquihalla due to outflow winds. The surface hoar (5-10mm) was most prominent at and above the recent cloud associated with inversion conditions. Surface facets have grown particularly on northern aspects where colder temperatures have persisted. In general the snowpack is now well bonded in most locations.
Problems
Wet Slabs
Wet Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) that is generally moist or wet when the flow of liquid water weakens the bond between the slab and the surface below (snow or ground). They often occur during prolonged warming events and/or rain-on-snow events. Wet Slabs can be very unpredictable and destructive.