Regions
South Coast Inland.
Alpine temperatures are sky rocketing! Dial back your terrain choices when the snow gets moist or mushy and avoid cliffs, gullies, and steep slopes with trees.
Confidence
High - The weather pattern is stable
Weather Forecast
THURSDAY: Alpine sun with some valley clouds, light wind, freezing level up to 3200 m with inversions in the valleys.FRIDAY: Alpine sun with some valley clouds, light wind, freezing level around 3000 m with inversions in the valleys.SATURDAY: Increasing cloud, moderate west wind, freezing level around 2700 m with inversions in the valleys.
Avalanche Summary
Little notable avalanche activity has been reported lately. Small lingering wind slabs have been reported in southern sections (Coquihalla) while small dry loose avalanches in steep terrain have been reported in the north of the region (Duffey Lake zone). On Tuesday, there were some reports of a few small loose avalanches steep south-facing slopes, showing the initial effects of the warm weather. More wet loose activity can be expected thanks to the sustained warming this week.
Snowpack Summary
Dramatic warming will cause widespread melting of the surface snow, especially on south-facing slopes. Crusts may form overnight, but will melt quickly in the mornings. The 30-50 cm of storm snow that fell last week is rapidly settling above the late November rain crust. The crust is reported to be thick (15 cm) below treeline and thin (2 cm) in the alpine. Southerly winds have blown snow around in exposed areas creating drifts and scoured areas. Stubborn wind slabs have formed near ridge crests and lee features, primarily in the south of the region (Coquihalla area). Treeline snow depths are approximately 1 m throughout the region.
Problems
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.
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.