Regions
Kootenay Boundary.
Winter continues. Snow forecast for Thursday is expected to add to existing storm slabs.
Confidence
Moderate - Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain
Weather Forecast
THURSDAY: 5-10 cm snow. Light to moderate south-easterly winds. Freezing level near 1500 m.FRIDAY: Light snow. Light winds. Freezing level near 1600 m.SATURDAY: Moderate snow. Light winds. Freezing level near 1600 m.Weather models disagree on the amount of snow expected this week.
Avalanche Summary
A skier-triggered size 2 storm slab was reported on a south-west aspect at treeline on Tuesday. A few loose moist size 1 avalanches were observed in steep sunny terrain on Wednesday.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 50 cm recent snow is slowly settling. Storm snow overlies variable surfaces including hard crusts on all aspects below 1900 m, and sunny aspects higher up. On high, shady aspects, the new snow may sit on some old wind slabs from last week, or a mix of large surface hoar and surface facets. Another weak layer buried in mid-March is down 50 to 120 cm and is a crust on solar aspects and surface hoar (to 6mm) on high elevation north aspects. Deeper weak layers are generally considered dormant.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.