Human triggered avalanches are most likely where wind has formed deep deposits of new snow.
New snow amounts are variable across the island, but the most concerning terrain will be lee features where wind has formed deeper deposits of snow.
We suspect some natural avalanches will occur in alpine terrain during the peak of the storm on Friday night, and then human-triggered wind slabs will remain possible over the weekend as the new snow gradually strengthens.
As the storm winds down on Saturday morning there could be 25 to 40 cm of new snow on the west island and 15 to 25 cm on the east side of the island. In most areas this snow has fallen on moist or crusty snow layers, except for shaded terrain above 1600 m. The new snow is expected to bond well to the old layers in most areas, but could potentially be poor in isolated terrain features. The middle and lower snowpack are strong and bonded.
Friday night
Cloudy, scattered flurries with 2 to 8 cm of snow, 40 km/h southwest wind, treeline temperatures around -5 °C with freezing level dropping to 500 m.
Saturday
Mix of sun and cloud with scattered flurries bringing up to 5 cm of snow, 30 km/h southwest wind, treeline temperatures around -2 °C with freezing level around 800 m.
SundayMix of sun and cloud with some light flurries starting in the afternoon, 10 km/h northwest wind, treeline temperatures around -2 °C with freezing level around 800 m.
MondayMostly sunny, 30 km/h northwest wind, treeline temperatures around -1 °C with freezing level around 1000 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
