Regions
Northwest Inland.
More snow will accumulate Thursday night into Friday, with the highest amounts expected in the south of the region. Best to treat this snow with added caution and apply conservative travel techniques.
Confidence
Moderate - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain
Weather Forecast
THURSDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 10 to 15 cm, freezing level below valley bottom.FRIDAY: Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 5 to 10 cm, light to moderate southwest winds, alpine temperature -15 C, freezing level below valley bottom.SATURDAY: Cloudy with light snowfall and afternoon clearing, trace accumulation, light north winds, alpine temperature -27 C, freezing level below valley bottom.SUNDAY: Clear skies, strong northeast winds, alpine temperature -30 C, freezing level below valley bottom.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were observed in the region on Wednesday. The likelihood of triggering avalanches will increase on Friday with the new snow.
Snowpack Summary
New snow is falling onto a wind-affected surface in high alpine and a widespread melt-freeze crust elsewhere. In the central and northern parts of the region, this snow may fall onto feathery surface hoar crystals in sheltered terrain at all elevations.In the south of the region, the remainder of the snowpack has been reported as well-settled.Around and north of Hazelton, 40 to 100 cm of snow may overly two weak layers of surface hoar found in sheltered and shaded areas. A weak layer of sugary faceted grains may also exist, approximately 150 to 200 cm deep.
Problems
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.