Regions
Northwest Coastal.
Variable winds and new snow have form reactive slabs on all aspects. Watch out for reverse loaded features.
Confidence
Moderate - The weather pattern is stable on Wednesday
Weather Forecast
WEDNESDAY: flurries, light to moderate southerly winds, 1200m freezing level. THURSDAY: flurries, moderate to light southerly winds, 1000m freezing level. FRIDAY: flurries, moderate southerly winds, 1400m freezing level.
Avalanche Summary
Explosive control north of Stewart produced storm slab avalanches up to size 2 on Sunday and Monday. In the far north of the region several natural avalanche son Monday steped down the to the early February crust almost 1m down. A cornice failure also triggered an avalanche on this layer just north-west of Terrace.
Snowpack Summary
Strong east winds on Tuesday will have reverse loaded lee features in the alpine and at treeline. Up to 80cm of new snow now sits on a crust below treeline and on sunny aspects at higher elevations. Surface hoar was also reported in isolated sheltered and shady locations. Below this an older crust buried in early February extends up to about 2000m and can now be found around 1 meter down. The layer of surface hoar buried late in January may be found in isolated locations. We haven't heard about any recent avalanche activity on this interface for a while, and it is no longer a concern for avalanche operations in the region.
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.