How much snow is on the crust and has it formed a slab? Let your answers to these questions guide your terrain selection and expect conditions to become a bit more reactive with daytime warming.
As new snow accumulates, reactive deposits will first form in the lee of ridgelines and other wind-loaded areas. Surface hoar at lower elevations may cause surprising reactivity.
Rising freezing levels and rain at lower elevations will increasingly promote wet loose activity on Thursday. This activity will be limited to recent snow accumulations.
A skier triggered a 10 to 35 cm-deep size 1.5 windslab on a steep, NE-facing feature in the Babines on Monday, the first indication of an expected uptick in avalanche conditions with ongoing snowfall and wind. The coastal region has produced a few reports of small wind slabs and loose dry avalanches from steep terrain
Observations remain limited, so be sure to post your observations to the MIN if you get out!
About another 5 cm of new snow should accumulate by Thursday morning, bringing new snow totals to a wind-redistributed 20 cm, roughly. The new snow has buried heavily wind-affected and crusty surfaces almost everywhere.
In shelter below 1000 - 1400 m there is large surface hoar on the old surface that will promote reactivity once there's enough snow for a slab. Warming and loose wet avalanche conditions may help flush out the problem at these lower elevations.
The mid and lower snowpack is well settled with no current layers of concern. Treeline snow depths throughout the region range from 150 cm to 250 cm.
Wednesday Night
Cloudy with flurries bringing about 5 cm of new snow. 40 to 50 km/h south ridgetop wind, easing. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1100 m.
Thursday
Cloudy with continuing flurries bringing about 5 cm of new snow, light afternoon rain below about 1200 m. 30 to 40 km/h south ridgetop wind, easing. Treeline temperature -1 °C to 0 °C as freezing level climbs to 1400 m.
Friday
Cloudy with flurries continuing from overnight bringing about 10 cm of new snow above 1400 m, light rain below. 70 - 80 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1400 to 1500 m.
Saturday
Becoming partly cloudy after overnight flurries finish with 1 to 2 cm of new snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind, increasing. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 800 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
