A winter storm will roll through, bringing cold and snowy conditions
Keep storm day fever from luring you out into bigger terrain features.
Storm slabs will be developing with upcoming precipitations during the day and night Thursday. They are likely to be increasingly reactive as the storm progresses. Rider-triggerable avalanches will be likely, especially on lees of features and convex terrain.
Loose wet avalanches will become increasingly likely at lower elevations as the rain will weaken the snowpack. Although often small, keep in mind that wet avalanches can be destructive due to their high density.
Small solar-triggered point releases were reported out of steep terrain Tuesday. A small skier-triggered wind slab (size 1) was also observed on convoluted alpine terrain. Over the past weekend, storm slabs and loose dry avalanches were reported (up to size 1-2) mostly artificially triggered by skiers and explosives.
If you head out in the backcountry, consider sharing your observations with us on the Mountain Information Network!
Surfaces are variable according to aspects and elevations. On northerly aspects above 1000 m, surface hoar has grown in sheltered areas and low-density snow can still be found. On southerly aspects and below 1000 m, a moist or crusty surface has likely formed. The most recent storm, from last week, left 15-30 cm of snow, with wind loading mostly isolated to immediate lees of ridgetop. Recent snow appears to be bonding well to underlying surfaces, including melt-freeze crusts and hard widn affected surfaces.
The middle of the snowpack is strong and bonded. At the bottom of the snowpack, a layer of weak facets remains present and continues to be monitored for signs of reactivity.
A frontal system will stall over the BC coast overnight Wednesday. Wet, warm & windy conditions are expected to ease on Friday before another system impacts the region for the weekend.
Wednesday night
Cloudy. Isolated flurries. Moderate southerly wind gusting 40 km/h. Alpine low -6 °C. Freezing level around 1000 m.
Thursday
Snow. Local amount 15-25 cm. Moderate southwest wind gusting 60 km/h. Alpine high -2 °C. Freezing level rises to 1500 m.
Friday
Flurries ending in the morning. 5-10 cm. Cloudy. Moderate southwest wind gusting 40 km/h. Alpine high -4 °C. Freezing level rises to 1400 m.
Saturday
Snow. Local amount 15-20 cm. Moderate southerly wind gusting 50 km/h. Alpine low -2 °C. Freezing level around 1500 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
