Regions
Northwest Coastal.
Confidence
Poor - Due to limited field observations
Weather Forecast
Light flurries on Saturday morning should give way to drier conditions as a ridge of high pressure builds over the province. The freezing level should be around 1200-1500m on Saturday and Sunday with moderate W-SW winds. A warm front will cross the area late Sunday bringing light precipitation to some areas through Monday. The freezing level could jump as high as 3000m on Sunday and Monday.
Avalanche Summary
One observer reported hearing a few natural avalanches in the Shames backcountry on Thursday. It appeared that most of these avalanches involved the new storm snow (top 20-30cm). Deeper wind slabs are likely in higher, more exposed terrain.
Snowpack Summary
Very strong SW-NW winds may wreak havoc on the snowpack creating scoured areas and soft or hard wind slabs in exposed lee terrain and cross-loaded gullies or terrain features. Coastal areas are reporting a very deep and strong snowpack - at or near record levels for this time of year. A buried surface hoar layer may be found down 100-150cm near Terrace, but there is no recent information on the presence and sensitivity of this layer.
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.
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.