Regions
Vancouver Island.
Confidence
High - Continued stable weather pattern.
Travel/Terrain Advice
Spring-like conditions continue to persist. Assess sunny slopes especially once the snow becomes moist or wet. Small loose wet avalanches have the potential for high consequences when travelling above cliffs or terrain traps. Watch for early season hazards such as exposed creeks, stumps, and tree wells especially below treeline.
Past Weather
Vancouver Island has seen a very stable weather pattern with little to no precipitation, light to moderate SE through SW winds and temperatures ranging from -3oC to +13oC. Freezing levels have continued to be unseasonably high.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches observed. Skiing on steep unsupported features did not produce any result.
Snowpack Summary
Surface - Sun crust forming on all aspects and elevations. Crust remains intact in shaded terrain and becomes moist quickly on solar aspects.
Upper - Snow remains cold and continues to settle and bond to rain crusts that were formed and buried in November.
Mid - Well settled.
Lower - Well settled.
Weather Forecast
It looks as though the massive ridge of high pressure that has dominated the province will weaken by Thursday and will allow a variety of Pacific systems to move onto the BC coast. These systems will bring periods of light precipitation and light to moderate variable winds that will mix the lower layers of atmosphere, eliminating the persistent temperature inversion and ushering in cooler temperatures and more seasonal freezing levels.
Wed - No new precipitation. Winds light to NW veering to light SE
Freezing levels of 1200-3850 m
Thu - 1-7 mm of precipitation. Winds light to moderate SW
Freezing levels of 1500-3700 m
Fri - 0-3 mm of precipitation. Winds light to moderate NW
Freezing levels of 550-2000 m
Problems
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.