South Coast

Give the snowpack a chance to settle and adjust to the new load. Pick conservative terrain especially if the wind is blowing

THURSDAY: 10cm of new snow overnight with flurries through the day, moderate southwest winds, 1800m freezing level. FRIDAY: 15cm new snow, strong southerly winds, 1800m freezing level. Saturday 25cm new snow, strong southerly winds, 1800m freezing level.

Artificially and naturally triggered storm slab, wind slab and cornice avalanches continue to be reported.   Cornices are large and fragile, and may fail under the weight of a person.

Up to 50cm of new snow and strong winds have formed widespread reactive slabs.  The upper snowpack sits above a crust that was reported on all aspects and elevations with isolated pockets of surface hoar in high north facing terrain that stayed cool prior to the storm.   The mid-pack is generally well settled.  A layer of surface hoar buried in early January can now be found down 1-2 meters. In most places it is thought to be capped by a thick widespread crust.   However, in the north of the region it remains a lingering concern, producing isolated hard sudden planar failures in snow pit tests.