Recent snow is forming a cohesive slab, this will be most reactive where there is wind effect or during times of intense solar warming.
Cold temperatures are forecast. It'll be especially chilly in the shade or when the sun goes down. Pack an extra warm clothing layer!
Recent snow accompanied by moderate wind has formed soft wind slabs on leeward and cross loaded features in the alpine. Where this wind slab sits on a crust, it may be particularly reactive and has the potential to run far. Intense sun can also make this slab more reactive.
Up to 40cm of light dry snow is perched atop a crust on solar aspects and surface hoar on NW through E aspects. It will be reactive to human-triggering, especially on the crust and could gather significant mass.
There were two reported skier triggered avalanches yesterday. One on Terminal Pk and the other in the Connaught drainage. They were both slabs within the recent storm snow that ran approximately 150 meters
Isolated slab avalanches (Avalanche Mtn last week, Sapphire Col on Saturday) continue to surprise folks from shallow snowpack areas in the Alpine. Thin snowpack areas, which in normal years have over 3m of snow by now, need to be treated with more caution this year.
A high pressure system will bring cold Arctic air into the region. Expect cold temps and clear skies.
Tonight: Clear with cloudy periods, nil precip, Alp low -16°C, E winds 20km/hr, freezing level (FZL) valley bottom.
Thurs: Sunny, Alp high -14°C, winds E: 25km/hr, FZL valley bottom.
Fri: Sunny w cloudy periods, Alp high -7, winds SE 10 km/hr, FZL 1000m
