On the North Shore the new snow has been showing signs of poor bonding to the recent crust surface. Further north in alpine terrain watch for fresh wind slabs on lee-loaded and cross-loaded slopes.
Confidence
High - The weather pattern is stable
Weather Forecast
THURSDAY: Mainly cloudy, flurries. Accumulation 5-10 cm. Ridge wind light to moderate from the west. Temperature -3. Freezing level 500 m. FRIDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, light flurries. Accumulation trace. Ridge wind light from the north. Temperature -3. Freezing level 500 m.SATURDAY: Mostly sunny. Ridge wind light from the east. Temperature -6. Freezing level surface.
Avalanche Summary
On Tuesday a few natural, loose dry avalanches were observed in the recent storm snow. Ski cutting also produced storm slab and loose dry avalanches to Size 1 running far on the December 18th crust. And explosive control work produced storm slab avalanches up to Size 1.5, propagating about 40 m wide with crowns 20-25 cm deep, failing on the December 18th crust.
Snowpack Summary
Since Monday, the region has received 20-30 cm of storm snow on top of the most recent December 18th melt-freeze crust which formed following Sunday's rain event to upper elevations. Below this crusts lies 20 cm of wet snow which appears to be well bonded to the lower December 16th crust. Below this second crust the snowpack is well settled to ground. Snowpack depths are about 125 cm at 1100 m elevation, with many early season hazards present at lower elevations.
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.
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.