Vancouver Island

Fresh snow and strong winds are forecast to intensify through Saturday.

Recent reports include rider-triggered wind slab avalanches in lee terrain features at upper elevations. (Click on photos below for details). With more snow and strong wind in the forecast, we expect slabs to increase in size and sensitivity as new snow accumulates.

New snow will add to the recent 30 to 40 cm of settling snow from the last few days. 50 to 80 cm of older snow from last weekend is settling and bonding well to an underlying crust.

Below 1200 m, surfaces may be moist or crusty. The remainder of the snowpack has no current layers of concern.

Snowpack depths at treeline are approximately 200 cm on the north and south Island, and 300 cm on the central Island.

Friday night

Cloudy, isolated flurries. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 900 m.

Saturday

Flurries, with 10 to 30 cm of snow. 40 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1100 m.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy, isolated flurries, and sunny breaks. 20 to 30 km/h variable ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

Monday

Sunny. 15 to 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +4 °C, freezing level rising to 2500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Storm slab size and sensitivity to triggering will likely increase through the day.
• Minimize exposure during periods of heavy loading from new snow and wind.
• Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.