Northwest Coastal

Be alert to conditions that change with daytime warming. Danger ratings may exceed posted levels when solar radiation is strong.

Good

Clear skies are expected on Sunday with increased cloud on Monday and a chance of light precipitation on Tuesday. Winds will be mostly light from the southwest increasing to moderate late Monday. Freezing levels may reach 2400m on Sunday, 1800m on Monday and then 1400m on Tuesday.

In the far north of the region a cornice collapse triggered a size 3 slab avalanche which failed down to glacier ice. In recent days, natural slab avalanches up to 2.5 have been reported, likely failing on the March 9th layer. Several loose wet sluffs up to size 2.5 have also been reported. As well, a recent size 2.5 slab avalanche was remotely triggered by a skier in the Hidden Lake area near Shames. Once again, the March 9 surface hoar layer was the culprit. Nobody was caught in the slide. On Friday a skier-triggered size 1 slab occurred on a solar aspect on March 9th surface hoar. This avalanche remotely triggered a 2nd slab (150m away) lower down in a similar terrain feature again on the March 9th layer.

Surface snow has settled with the influence of warm temperatures and surface hoar is growing on shaded slopes. Solar aspects and lower elevation terrain are now well into a daily melt-freeze cycle with sun-exposed slopes becoming very weak with daytime warming.Between 50-75cm below the surface is layer of surface hoar buried on March 9th which is variably reactive. In some areas it is stubborn and requires a significant trigger, while in other areas the layer is well preserved and primed for human triggering with the potential for very large avalanches. Check out the Forecaster's Blog for related discussion.The mid snowpack is generally well settled and strong. Having said that, basal facets may resurface as a concern with spring warming, particularly in the north of the region.Cornices are large and untrustworthy, especially when the sun is out.