South Coast Inland

Outflow winds are building touchy wind slabs on south to southwest slopes.

Be cautious transitioning into wind-affected terrain, wind slabs may be on all aspects.

Moderate

• We are uncertain due to the variability of wind effect on the snowpack.
• We are uncertain about how the timing or intensity of solar radiation will affect the snowpack.

On Thursday there were reports of skier and remote triggered wind slab avalanches running on the recently faceted surface snow in the Hurley.

Over the past week, several, small  wind slab and dry loose avalanches have been observed in the region. These avalanches were triggered naturally and by skiers in steep terrain on a variety of aspects.

10 to 20 cm of recent snow that arrived with moderate to strong southwest wind has been redistributed by outflow winds as low as 1900 m. This snow is rapidly faceting in the cold temperatures. This snow overlies a layer of surface hoar on sheltered features.

20 to 40 cm sits over the early February crust that is thin and breakable on northerly aspects to ~2300 m and thick on southerly aspects.

A widespread crust and facet layer from late January is buried 30 to 80 cm deep.

The mid and lower snowpack is generally well settled and strong.

Thursday Night
Clear skies. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.

Friday
Mix of sun and clouds. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -11 °C.

Saturday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 to 2 cm of snow. 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

Sunday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 to 3 cm of snow. 50 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperture -7 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Outflow winds may form wind slabs at all elevations.
• Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
• Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to a buried crust.
• Be alert to conditions that change with elevation, aspect, and exposure to wind.