Regions
Northwest Coastal.
Confidence
Fair - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather is uncertain
Weather Forecast
More cold and dry air is on tap for Thursday as Arctic Air continues to affect the area. Light precipitation creeps in Friday and winds switch around to the S-SW which will warm things up a bit, Friday's forecast call for a high of -4. Moderate precip builds in Saturday and will continue through Sunday. Precip totals are a bit sketchy at this point, but these details will flush themselves out as we get closer to the weekend.
Avalanche Summary
A few natural slab avalanches to size 2 were noted on lee features in the alpine Tuesday.
Snowpack Summary
Outflow winds have redistributed the low density snow from the last storm into widespread hard & soft slabs that can be found in the alpine and at treeline. In wind sheltered areas the storm snow has been bonding quite well to the old snow surface, but it's getting pretty tough to find wind sheltered areas with the recent onslaught of brutally cold arctic winds. A thin wind slab is being reported in wind exposed areas below treeline as well. Reverse winds continue to blow at moderate to strong speeds. These winds are still finding snow to pick up and move, meaning that slabs continue to build. Snowpack depths vary from 3.5 to 5 m across the region. In this part of the province, the mid-December surface hoar/facet combo layer is inactive as it's now 2.5 m below the snow surface. For the most part, avalanche concerns are limited to storm snow instabilities.
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.