South Coast

Avalanche conditions will be very different Thursday. Until then, watch for pockets of wind slab up near the ridges and peaks.

No new avalanches have been reported in our area lately. Keep sharing your observations via the MIN; it helps strengthen our information gathering.

A thin sun crust has formed on steep south-facing slopes. On other aspects, the surface varies from deeper pockets of wind-affected snow in the alpine and cohesion-less snow at treeline (40-50 cm). Further down in the snowpack, there are reports of a thick melt-freeze crust that produced signs of instabilities earlier this weekend. At around 1000 m the snowpack reaches a depth of around 90 cm.

Lower treeline and below treeline elevation are still below the threshold for avalanches.

Tuesday Night

Overcast. No precipitation. Light to moderate westerly wind at ridge elevation. Temperatures around -5 C at treeline with freezing level near 300m.

Wednesday

Snow in the afternoon, up to 5 cm. Light southwesterly ridge wind increasing to moderate in the afternoon. High near -2 C at treeline. Freezing level rising to around 700 m.

By Thursday evening accumulations of 30 to 40 mm of precipitation (which could be 30 to 40 cm of snow near ridgetops). Moderate to strong southwest wind. Freezing level 500 to 700 m.

Wind starts to fall, precipitation eases off, temperatures cool slightly with freezing level around 500m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.
• Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where even small avalanches may have severe consequences.