Regions
Northwest Inland.
Confidence
Fair - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather is uncertain
Weather Forecast
Wednesday: Cloud building by afternoon, with a few flurries possible. Southerly winds increasing by afternoon. Freezing level around 800m.Thursday/Friday: A few cm snow each day. Moderate southerly winds. Freezing level around 900m.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been reported.
Snowpack Summary
Recently, warm temperatures created moist surface snow on sunny aspects and on all aspects at low elevations. Where a re-freeze has occurred, a crust now exists. Recent storm snow appears to bonding well. A facet layer which formed in mid-January has gained strength. It showed hard, resistant planar results in a compression test at treeline in the Hankin area on Sunday.
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.