Vancouver Island

Watch for sign of instability on steep slopes as freezing levels rise to above mountain tops.

No new avalanches have been reported. Our field team did note some pinwheeling and loose wet debris was present while out on Wednesday.

Please help out your backcountry community by submitting a MIN report if you head out to the backcountry.

5 to 30 cm of storm snow is moist to wet and settling rapidly. This sits on a melt freeze crust that formed over the holidays. Beneath this there is moist snow to ground. Below treeline, you'll find dirt, or shallow and wet snow.

The current snow depth ranges from 70 to 120 cm at treeline, diminishing rapidly below 1000 m.

Thursday Night

Cloudy. Southeasterly winds, 40-60 km/h. Treeline temperature around 1 °C. Freezing levels rising to 2000 m.

Friday

Cloudy with 5 to 10 mm of rain. Southerly winds, 70-90 km/h. Treeline temperature around 4 °C. Freezing levels rising to 2400 m.

Saturday

Overcast with clouds breaking late in the day with 5 to 15 mm precipitation. Southerly winds, 40-60 km/h. Treeline temperatures around 1 °C. Freezing levels falling to 1800 m.

Sunday

Mix of sun and clouds. Southerly winds, 10-20 km/h. Treeline temperature around 0 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Avoid steep slopes when air temperatures are warm, it is raining, or solar radiation is strong.
• Early season avalanches at any elevation have the potential to be particularly dangerous due to obstacles that are exposed or just below the surface.
• Minimize exposure during periods of heavy loading from rain.