Regions
Northwest Coastal.
Confidence
Fair - Intensity of incoming weather is uncertain on Sunday
Weather Forecast
Saturday: trace amounts of new snow / light northwesterly winds / freezing level @ 300m Sunday: very light snowfall in the day intensifying slightly in the afternoon and overnight / moderate southerly winds / freezing level @ 400m Monday: trace amounts of snowfall / moderate southwest winds / freezing level @ 700m
Avalanche Summary
Surface sluffing in steep terrain was reported by many operators in the region on Thursday. Otherwise, no new avalanche activity to report.
Snowpack Summary
Light amounts of recent snowfall now sit over a strong melt freeze crust that exists below 1000m on all aspects and over wind-pressed powder on shaded alpine features. The aforementioned new snow may sit over a buried surface hoar layer at treeline and below. This surface hoar layer seems most prevalent in protected inland areas. The mid and lower snowpack is generally well settled and strong; however, a facet layer buried around Jan 20th is on the radar of some operators, although triggering seems unlikely. This layer lies approximately 110-140 cm below the surface and shows hard yet sudden planar results in isolated snowpack tests.
Problems
Loose Dry
Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.