Vancouver Island

Wind slabs at upper elevations are the main concern.

Moderate

• We are uncertain about forecast precipitation amounts.

No new avalanches reported on Wednesday.

Expect to see reactive wind slabs in the alpine and tree line as precipitation accumulates and the wind blows.

At upper elevations, there may be 10-20 cm of new snow adding to the 100 cm that fell last weekend. In some areas it may sit on a layer of surface hoar. The likeliest place to find this layer still preserved is sheltered areas at and below tree line. There is uncertainty with its distribution and reactivity at this time.

A crust from early February is down 90 to 150 cm and in most areas appears to be well bonded.

The remainder of the snowpack is well settled. The snowpack depth at treeline ranges from 95 to 200 cm, and there is still very little snow below treeline.

Thursday Night

Cloudy. 1 to 3 cm of snow. 30-50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 900 m.

Friday

Cloudy. 2 to 5 cm of snow. 20-40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.

Saturday

Mix of sun and clouds. 10-20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1700 m.

Sunday

Mainly sunny. 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 4 °C. Freezing level 2200 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Pay attention to isolated wind affected features in the alpine, as well as cross-loaded features at treeline.
• Recent strong wind means wind slabs may be found farther downslope than expected.
• Back off if you encounter whumpfing, hollow sounds, or shooting cracks.