Northwest Coastal

Wind slabs formed during strong outflow winds linger in exposed alpine terrain. While numerous buried weak layers demand careful terrain selection.

Several wind slab avalanches, up to size 2, were reported on Friday. All in alpine terrain on a variety of aspects and triggered by skiers, explosives, or naturally.

If you are out in the backcountry please consider filling out a Mountain Information Network report.

Recent outflow winds have stripped northerly aspects in the alpine, redistributing the snow into wind slabs on lee, southerly terrain. While at lower elevations a widespread melt-freeze crust exists on the surface up to roughly 1900 m and is preventing the wind from transporting much snow. The crust continues to gain strength and is becoming supportive at most elevations.

In the mid and lower snowpack, a number of buried weak layers remain a concern. These layers are most concerning in shallow, rocky areas at treeline and alpine elevations.

Saturday night

Clear, with no precipitation. Treeline temperatures -5 to -15 C. Moderate to strong northeast alpine winds, with strong to extreme outflow winds in valleys and inlets.

Sunday

Sunny, with no precipitation. Treeline temperatures 0 to -10 C. Light to moderate northwest alpine winds, with strong to extreme outflow winds in valleys and inlets.

Monday

Cloudy with sunny periods, with flurries and trace amounts of snow. Treeline temperatures 0 to -10 C. Moderate to strong northwest alpine winds.

Tuesday

Cloudy with flurries, 2 to 5 cm. Treeline temperatures -5 to -10 C. Moderate to strong southwest alpine winds.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Expect slab conditions to change drastically as you move into wind exposed terrain.
• Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
• If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.