Conditions are changing quickly on the South Coast. Expect our new snow to react easily to light triggers anywhere slopes are steep enough to produce avalanches. Travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended.
Up to 40 cm of new snow is expected to accumulate before the end of the day on Monday and form touchy storm slabs over fragile surface hoar and slippery crust. This is a recipe for dangerous avalanche conditions at all elevations and on all aspects.
Sunday night: Cloudy with continuing snowfall bringing 10-20 cm of new snow. Light southeast winds.
Monday: Cloudy with continuing flurries bringing another 10 cm of new snow, with 2-day snow totals reaching about 30-40 cm, continuing overnight. Light south winds. Treeline high temperatures around -6.
Tuesday: Cloudy with continuing isolated flurries and a final trace of new snow, with 3-day snow totals around 40-50 cm. Moderate southeast winds. Treeline high temperatures around -6.
Wednesday: Cloudy with scattered flurries continuing from overnight and about 5 total cm of new snow. Light southeast winds. Treeline high temperatures around -7.
We don't yet have reports of avalanche activity from the initial hours of the storm, but it's safe to assume that conditions are becoming increasingly touchy as sufficient snow falls to form slabs over the range of weak surfaces that have been buried.
Looking forward to Sunday, expect touchy avalanche conditions to continue, with slabs equal to the depth of newly accumulated snow likely to release naturally or with human triggers on sufficiently steep slopes.
30-40 cm of dry snow is expected to accumulate in the region by the end of the day on Monday. The new snow has already buried a widespread crust which recently began to facet as well as form surface hoar crystals on top, especially on north aspects. New snow is not expected to bond well with this surface!
Under the frozen block, the remainder of the snowpack is well consolidated.
Click here to watch North Shore Rescue's recent snowpack conditions update, which includes a great explanation of persistent weak layer formation.
