Microwave-Sinclair

If you see more than 20 cm of new snow, treat the danger as one level higher.

Storms slabs are more likely with higher snowfall amounts.

A rider triggered a large (size 2.5) slab avalanche on a southeast alpine slope on Sunday. The slab ranged from 20 to 100 cm deep with wind loading variability. The slab may have released on the persistent weak layer described in the Snowpack Summary. See this MIN for more information.

It's uncertain how much snow will make it inland to the Smithers area. New snow will be coming with strong wind, which will leave deep deposits in lee slopes.

Under the new snow, recent warm temperatures are expected to have created a crust on all aspects, except perhaps treeline and above on northerly slopes.

A weak layer of facets and a crust from early December is buried roughly 50 to 100 cm deep.

Tuesday Night

Cloudy with 10 cm of snow. 40 to 80 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Wednesday

Cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow. 40 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Thursday

A mix of sun and cloud with 1 to 2 cm of snow. 15 km/h west then east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

Friday

Mostly cloudy with 5 cm of snow. 10 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Don't let storm day fever lure you into consequential terrain.
• Avoid freshly wind-loaded terrain features.
• Start with conservative terrain and watch for signs of instability.