Strong outflow wind will cause heightened avalanche danger at upper elevations. Be careful around freshly wind-loaded slopes.
Snow from last week's storm has left wind slabs in the alpine and at treeline. Strong outflow winds on Tuesday will transport this snow into fresh reactive slabs on steep south and west facing slopes.
MONDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with scattered flurries bringing up to 5 cm of snow along the coast and less inland, 20-30 km/h wind from the east, treeline temperatures drop to -15 C.
TUESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, no significant precipitation, 40-60 km/h wind from the northeast, treeline temperatures around -12 C.
WEDNESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, no precipitation, 20 km/h wind from the northeast, treeline temperatures around -10 C.
THURSDAY: Mostly sunny, no precipitation, 30-40 km/h wind from the northeast, treeline temperatures around -8 C.
Avalanche activity decreased over the weekend following the large natural avalanche cycle that occurred at the end of last week. On Sunday, there were a few large natural wind slab avalanches on north-facing slopes (size 2 to 2.5), some of which were triggered by cornices. There were also some small wet loose avalanches on sun-exposed slopes. One small human-triggered wind slab (size 1) was reported in the northern part of the region.
Looking ahead, wind slab avalanches will be possible on all aspects as the wind shifts to the northeast. Cornices and wet loose avalanches should also be on your radar this time of year.
It's been a snowy and cold spring. Above 1200 m, 80 to 120 cm of settled storm snow rests on a hard melt-freeze crust from late March. That interface has not produced any recent activity. Open terrain will become wind-affected on Tuesday with the arrival of outflow winds.
Note that cornices are very large and exposure to them should be minimized, especially during warm or windy weather.
