South Coast

Heavy precipitation with messy freezing levels means dynamic and wide ranging avalanche danger. Expect slab thickness and reactivity to increase with elevation and watch for a spike in natural activity as snow transitions to rain.

Moderate - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain

Wednesday night: Cloudy with heavy snowfall bringing about 40 cm of new snow. Strong to extreme south winds. Freezing level around 1000 metres.Thursday: Cloudy with continuing heavy snowfall bringing 30-40 cm of new snow, transitioning to rain as freezing levels rise to 2000 metres in the afternoon. Strong south winds. Alpine high temperatures rising to 0.Friday: Mainly cloudy with increasing cloud and light rain transitioning to heavy snow/rain in the afternoon. Extreme south winds. Alpine high temperatures around +1 with freezing levels near 2000 metres, falling in the evening.Saturday: Mainly cloudy with light flurries and about 2 cm of snow. Cloud and flurries increasing in the evening. Light south winds. Alpine high temperatures around -3 with freezing levels around 1000 metres and rising over the day.

The new storm snow has already produced small (size 1) storm slabs avalanches in the neighboring Sea to Sky region. Similar avalanche activity can be expected in the South Coast region as snowfall totals rise.No avalanches have been reported in the region. Please submit any observations you have to the Mountain Information Network here.

A suspected 30 cm new snow has fallen in the alpine of the region. At lower elevations, rain gave way to heavy snowfall only late on Wednesday. Where it covers old snow, the new snow is not expected to bond well with the now buried crust.Prior to the recent precipitation, the snowpack has been below threshold depth for avalanches in the North Shore mountains and terrain below 1500 m elevation. In alpine areas near Squamish, the new snow has covered up to of 70 cm settled snow. In these areas, a crust is lower in the snowpack, however it is now suspected to be well bonded to the overlying storm snow. Shallow snow to bare ground at lower elevations has made for rugged travel. With any luck, the upcoming series of storms will deposit enough snow at treeline and lower elevations and improve early season travel conditions. Additionally, this new snow may bring lower elevation snow packs to depths where avalanches can occur.