Regions
Northwest Inland.
Mild alpine temperatures and clear skies will trend the avalanche danger down towards low at all elevations by Sunday.
Weather Forecast
No precipitation forecast until at least Monday night. Clear skies with warm air above about 1500 metres on Saturday and Sunday. Moderate to strong southerly upper winds over the weekend, unsure if this wind will be low enough to affect local terrain and transport loose snow. Monday starting off clear with cloud and southeast wind building during the day. Temperatures around -15 in the valleys of the south and closer to -20 in the north of the region.
Avalanche Summary
One skier accidental size 1.5 avalanche was reported from the north of the region on Thursday. The avalanche was a wind slab on an east aspect at 1200 metres that was 20-60 cm deep and released on a buried surface hoar layer from mid-December.
Snowpack Summary
Light amounts (10-15cm) of snow fell last weekend. Variable winds have likely shifted the new snow into wind slabs in upper elevation lee terrain. Although these wind slabs have likely gained strength, I'd remain cautious on steep, unsupported slopes in the immediate lee of ridge crests. Solar radiation has also come into play, and depending on the time of day, steep solar aspects may be moist or refrozen. We're still dealing with a thin, early-season snowpack for much of the Northwest Inland region. Shedin creek snow pillow is at historical minimum snow depth, and Tsai creek snow pillow is setting a new historical minimum snow depth. Between 80 and 100 cm of snow can be found at tree-line in the south and west of the region, with closer to 60 cm in the east. A weak basal layer probably exists in most areas, and I suspect that the ongoing cold temperatures have continued to promote faceting in the snowpack, especially in shallow, rocky areas.
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.
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.