South Rockies

 Windy conditions over the next few days will make avalanches possible in steep open terrain.

Mild and windy conditions over the next few days, especially along the eastern side of the divide where Chinook conditions are expected.

THURSDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy, strong wind from the west with gusts up to 90 km/h, alpine temperatures drop to -10 C.

FRIDAY: Mix of sun and cloudy, 50-80 km/h wind from the west with gusts up to 100 km/h, freezing level climbing to 1500 m in western parts of the region and 2000 m in eastern parts of thee region.

SATURDAY: A light dusting of new snow overnight then clearing throughout the day, light to moderate wind, freezing level drops to valley bottom and alpine temperatures drop to -10 C.

SUNDAY: Clear skies, 30-50 km/h wind from the southwest, alpine high temperatures around -5 C.

There have been a few reports of small (size 1) naturally triggered wind slab avalanches in steep rocky terrain. These likely occurred on Tuesday. Ongoing wind transport could form more wind slabs over the next few days, so be alert to slopes that have been wind affected.

Please submit your observations to the Mountain Information Network! 

Strong wind over the next few days will redistribute the 10-15 cm of snow that fell on Tuesday night. Snowpack depths are variable with reports of 50 to 100 cm in terrain that hasn't been scoured by the wind. There are some reports of a hard crust buried about 30 cm below the surface, which could be a bed surface for wind slab avalanches. There is most likely a crust at the bottom of the snowpack, and there have been a few reports suggesting weak snow may be forming around these crusts. This layer could become a bigger concern when it gets buried deeper.

• Be careful as you transition into wind affected terrain.
• Be especially cautious near rock outcroppings, on steep convexities and anywhere the snowpack feels thinner than average.