A warming trend has the potential to weaken recent snow and cornices.
Wind slabs may linger at high elevations, particularly in the central and northern part of the region where the most snow accumulated on Saturday. Carefully assess for wind slabs in steep, committing terrain features.
Cornices are large and looming along many ridgelines and have likely grown with the recent snow and wind. They become increasingly weak when the sun comes out and freezing levels rise. They require a large berth when travelling above and below them.
A warming trend will likely weaken the snow surface, particularly on sun-exposed slopes. Avalanches are expected to mostly be small. The most likely areas to get into trouble would be on steep slopes above terrain traps.
SUNDAY NIGHT: Clear skies, 10 km/h north wind, treeline temperature -1 C, freezing level 1200 m.
MONDAY: Clear skies, 10 km/h northwest wind, treeline temperature 3 C, freezing level rising to 2000 m.
TUESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, 20 km/h west wind, treeline temperature 0 C, freezing level 1500 m.
WEDNESDAY: Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 20 cm, 40 km/h southwest wind, treeline temperature -2 C.
We haven't received any observations for the South Coast region in the past few days. Please consider sharing your observations to the Mountain Information Network to help us know what conditions are like.
Saturday's storm brought 15 to 25 cm of snow to the central/north of the region but only 5 cm along the North Shore, all above 1400 m. The snow fell with southwest wind so wind slabs may still exist in lee terrain features at high elevations. The snow fell onto a hard melt-freeze crust so it could take a couple days to bond to it. The snow surface has likely already melted and frozen into a crust on sun-exposed aspects. Warm air and sunny skies will likely moisten the snow on all aspects on Monday. Below 1400 m, expect to find a hard crust on the surface that will moisten during daytime warming.
Cornices are large and looming along ridgelines. Their release is unpredictable, requiring a large berth if you're travelling above or below them.
