Although the likelihood of triggering a persistent slab avalanche has decreased, the problem still exists. Continue to employ a conservative approach to terrain selection.
Weather Forecast
TUESDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear skies, light south wind, treeline temperature -6 C, freezing level 500 m.WEDNESDAY: Mostly clear skies with afternoon cloud, moderate southeast wind, treeline temperature -4 C, freezing level 700 m.THURSDAY: Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 5 to 10 cm, light southwest wind, treeline temperature -6 C, freezing level 500 m.FRIDAY: Cloudy with light snowfall, accumulation 1 to 3 cm, light northwest wind, treeline temperature -6 C, freezing level 600 m.
Avalanche Summary
There have been no reports of avalanche activity in the past few days.
Snowpack Summary
The snow surface consists of soft snow in shaded and sheltered areas, wind-affected snow in exposed terrain, and a melt-freeze crust on southerly slopes.A layer of weak and sugary faceted grains sits on a melt-freeze crust about 60 to 110 cm deep. The layer is likely most prominent in the North Shore Mountains and on north aspects. This layer continues to be reactive in snowpack tests. The problem is not typical for the region and we expect this persistent weak layer to continue to linger.The lower snowpack is generally strong.
Problems
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.