Regions
Northwest Coastal.
Weather Forecast
Saturday night and Sunday: An upper ridge remains over the coast bringing dryer conditions and light to moderate NW winds until a front reaches the coast in the evening Sunday. Monday: The weak front is expected to bring light precipitation and possibly moderate amounts in the Northern part of the region with moderate to strong winds from the S. Freezing levels are expected to rise to 400 m. and temperatures to warm up slightly with the arrival of the front. Tuesday: Temperatures around -4 C, no precipitation, light SE winds.
Avalanche Summary
A few small storm slabs were triggered on lee aspects (NW) in the Bear pass area. Also, there has been report of multiple small loose natural avalanches in steep rocky terrain around Terrace.
Snowpack Summary
A few cm of snow fell since yesterday's 20-30 cm of recent storm snow. The storm snow which fell with light to moderate winds from the SE formed new windslabs on lee side of ridges in the alpine and at treeline. The mid-pack is generally well settled. Note that a layer of surface hoar buried in the upper meter of the pack has been observed in the Shames backcountry. In sheltered areas and below treeline, 40 cm of low density snow overlies a stiffer base. Near the base of the snowpack, a crust/facet layer continues to give hard, sudden results to no results in snowpack tests. This weakness is unlikely to be triggered by a single person, but it remains possible with a very heavy load (e.g. cornice fall) or from a thin-spot trigger point.
Problems
Loose Dry
Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.
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.