👉 ATTENTION - VALID FOR SATURDAY, MARCH 30 UNTIL MONDAY, APRIL 1 👈
The snowpack will remain unstable for a few more days. Take the time to read up on avalanche problems before venturing into the mountains. A watch for the out-of-zone areas has been issued for the weekend. You can consult it on the Avalanche Québec website.
*** Problem valid Saturday and Sunday ***
Depending on the amount of snow received on Saturday, a storm slab problem could develop. A more significant problem can be expected on leeward slopes. Be aware that storm slabs can be triggered by human intervention at low altitudes, even on small pieces of terrain.
The snowpack will take time to stabilize, even if it stops raining and temperatures fall below freezing. This is due to the saturation of the snowpack, i.e. the loss of cohesion between the grains and the percolation of water onto the lower crusts. New snow accumulations could amplify the problem due to overloading. The situation will improve when the moist snow turns to ice.
An accident involving snowmobilers occurred on Tuesday, March 26, near La Martre, just outside our forecast area. For more details, please consult the MIN report.
If you head into the backcountry, thanks for sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network (MIN).
Rainfall continues to make the upper part of the snowpack isothermal, allowing water to percolate down to the underlying crusts. The top 40 to 50 cm of snow is now moist or wet.
There is a crust 20 cm below the surface and another 40 cm below. Water seems to be percolating onto the deeper crust. The bottom of the snowpack is an ice loaf that is slowly breaking up.
Since Wednesday's rains began, we've lost nearly 30 cm of snowpack height.
Synopsis: Still plenty of precipitation forecast for the start of the Easter vacation. Weather models disagree on the expected amount of rain versus snow. It looks like the coast and the western Chic-Chocs will receive more snow. From Saturday morning, temperatures should remain below freezing.
Friday evening and night: Rain. 25 to 40 mm of rain or freezing rain. Easterly wind, 20 to 40 km/h. Inversion in the mountains, maximum +6 at altitude and -1 in the valleys.
Saturday: Cloudy. 5 to 10 cm. Wind northwest, 40 to 60 km/h. Cooling to -6.
Sunday: Cloudy. 3 to 5 cm. Wind northwest, 20 to 30 km/h. High -5.
Monday: Sunny. Light northwest wind, 10 to 20 km/h. High -4.
For more details, check out the most recent alpine weather forecast.
