On Monday, a few small storm slabs and wet loose avalanches were triggered with explosives near Vernon.

On the weekend, there were numerous small storm slabs triggered by riders.

As temperatures rise, wet avalanches are expected to occur and cornices may fall, especially when the sun comes out.

As temperatures rise to above mountain top, the recent snow (around 40 cm) is expected to become moist and wet.

Otherwise, a melt-freeze crust is 40 to 70 cm deep from early march. Below that, two weak layers of surface hoar and/or faceted grains associated with crusts from late-January and mid-February may be found 70 to 120 cm deep.

The mid and lower snowpack is well-settled and strong.

Tuesday Night

Cloudy. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 3 °C. Freezing level 2800 m.

Wednesday

A mix of sun and cloud, with 2 mm of rain in the afternoon. 10 to 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 6 °C. Freezing level 3000 m.

Thursday

Mostly cloudy with 5 to 15 cm/mm of snow or rain. 20 to 30 km/h south ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level falling to 1800 m by noon.

Friday

Mostly cloudy with 5 cm of snow. 30 to 40 km/h southeast ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 2000 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

On Monday, numerous natural wet loose avalanches up to size 2 were reported in the southern part of the region. Check out this MIN report for more details.

We expect a natural avalanche cycle to continue with rain and warm temperatures destabilizing the snowpack.

Thank you for sharing your observations to the MIN.

10 mm of rain is expected to create moist surfaces on all aspects and elevations. This falls on 40 to 60 cm of settling storm snow which was redistributed into deeper deposits on north- and east-facing slopes by strong southwest winds. This sits atop 80 to 100 cm of settled snow on north-facing slopes, and several thin melt-freeze layers on south-facing slopes.

A supportive crust is found below this, on all aspects except on high, north-facing alpine terrain. Snow is reportedly bonded well to it.

A weak layer of facets and surface hoar from February is now 90 to 150 cm deep and a layer of facets and surface hoar from late January is 110 to 190 cm deep. Some recent planar results were reported in the Manning Park area.

Tuesday Night

Cloudy. 15 to 45 km/h south ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature 5 °C. Freezing level 1300 m.

Wednesday

Mostly cloudy with light rain. 15 to 20 km/h south ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature 10 °C. Freezing level rises to 3200 m.

Thursday

Cloudy with wet snow 5 to 10 cm above 1800 m. 15 to 50 km/h south ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature 4 °C.

Friday

Cloudy with snow 5 to 10 cm above 1500 m. 15 gusting to 65 km/h southeast ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature 4 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

A large avalanche cycle occurred on Monday and likely into Tuesday. With many storm slabs stepping down to deep weak layers, causing very large avalanches, up to size 4.

In the southeast of the region on Monday, there was a fatal avalanche incident. A group was hit by a large (size 3) natural persistent slab avalanche.

Up to 50 cm of recent snow is rapidly warming and expected to see the sun for the first time. The upper snowpack is expected to become moist and wet.

There is a significant concern for avalanches in motion to step down to deeper, persistent weak layers. These consist of surface hoar, facets, or a crust:

• Early-March layer down 80–120 cm. This is the primary persistent layer of concern.

• Mid-February & Late-January layers down 100–200 cm. Warm temperatures and sunshine may trigger these deep layers. Likewise, large triggers, like cornice fall or avalanches in motion, could step down.

Tuesday Night

Cloudy with 0 to 10 mm/cm of rain/snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 2400 m.

Wednesday

A mix of sun and cloud. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 3 °C. Freezing level 3000 m.

Thursday

Cloudy with 10 to 30 mm/cm of rain/snow. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level falling to 2000 m.

Friday

Mostly cloudy with 5 to 15 mm/cm of rain/snow. 10 to 20 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1800 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.