Great skiing persists, particularly around treeline. Get out there and enjoy it! But watch for fresh storm slab development as soon as the winds pick up. JH
Weather Forecast
Several well organized low pressure systems making landfall on the central coast over the next few days will mostly be held off from influencing our area by a high pressure center over norther BC/Alberta. Thankfully, on Friday a front will make it through, and we can expect to see snowfall in the amount of 10-15 cm by Saturday afternoon.
Snowpack Summary
10-15 cm of new snow overnight burying previously visible storm slabs formed by SW-NW winds. 3 buried crusts exist; two from early December are widespread below tree-line, and one from mid November which exists at all elevations and has a highly variable depth as it was scoured clean in exposed areas prior to the heavy rain/snow event on Dec. 8th.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanche activity has been observed or reported.
Confidence
Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain on Friday
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.
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.
Persistent Slabs
Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.