Avalanche danger will increase through the day as snow falls. Observe how much new snow is piling up as you travel through terrain, and retreat to mellower terrain if you are seeing signs of instability like shooting cracks or recent avalanches.
Storm slabs will be reactive to the weight of a rider earlier in the day, and naturally triggered avalanches may become more likely by the afternoon and into the evening as more snow piles up.
Riders and explosive avalanche control have recently caused several small (size 1 to 1.5) loose dry and wind slab avalanches within the recent storm snow. Most of these avalanches occurred around treeline, or at ridgetops.
On Saturday, West of Kimberly, a large (size 2) avalanche was reported that was remotely triggered by a rider from 50 m away. See the MIN report for more information.
Looking forward, fresh storm slabs will be reactive to the weight of a rider earlier in the day, and naturally triggered avalanches may become more likely by the afternoon and into the evening as more snow piles up.
Up to 15 cm of new snow through the day will start forming reactive storm slabs as it piles up.
Snow from the previous stormy period was redistributed into wind slabs in cross-loaded and lee terrain features from sustained southwest wind. In terrain sheltered from the wind, small surface hoar crystals may be found 30-50 cm from the surface. At a similar depth, you may also find a melt-freeze crust on sun-exposed slopes and below 1900 m.
Deeper weak layers in the snowpack have not recently produced avalanches, but they may become reactive again if there is a rapid change in the weather.
The lower snowpack contains weak and faceted grains.
Monday Night
Cloudy. Possible trace of snow expected, maybe a few cm in spotty areas around the region. Moderate southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level dropping to around 1000 m.
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 10-15 cm of snow expected over most of the region, possibly less closer to Penticton and Kelowna. Moderate west or southwest ridgetop wind, possibly strong at high elevations. Freezing level around 1250 m.
Wednesday
Partly cloudy. 5-15 cm of snow expected overnight. Moderate northwest ridgetop wind becoming light by the afternoon. Freezing level dropping to valley bottom overnight, rising back to 1250 m through the day.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy. No new snow expected. Moderate south through west wind trending to strong at high elevations. Treeline temperatures around -10 °C in the morning, rising to -5 °C through the day.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
