SOUTH COAST REGION WEATHER: About 15cm of storm snow fell Tuesday, accompanied by moderate, variable winds. The weather improved mid week, but a series of disturbances out in the Pacific promptly began tracking onshore Thursday. Weather forecasters predict these disturbances will continue in waves approximately 24 hours apart throughout the weekend. Expect the freezing level to bounce around, but possibly climb as high as 1700m at times. A mix of wind affected snow accumulation followed by solar radiation will be the end result. SNOWPACK: The recent storm snow has formed into a pencil hard wind slab, which sits over a 15 cm layer of much weaker snow below. Although some easy shears right in the storm snow were evident earlier in the week, these were pretty well gone by Thursday. Ski cutting attempts on the hard wind slab were not successful in breaking the crust Thursday, although this may change with the extra loading from precipitation and wind this weekend. AVALANCHES: Numerous naturals were observed mid week from the wind slabbing, although none were larger than size 2. One size 3 occurred from a cornice fall, and interestingly enough, no slab propagation was observed when the cornice mass hit, but once the debris mass began to run into the top of the runout fan, a slab began to propagate across the fan. DANGER: ABOVE TREELINE - Considerable BELOW TREELINE - Moderate TRAVEL ADVISORY: Solar heating after new rapid loading may cause the hazard to increase. Check out the density of the snow under the wind slab. Keep in mind wind slab instabilities usually involve a great deal of variability. NORTH COLUMBIA REGION WEATHER: About 30cm of storm snow was added to the alpine over the week, which unfortunately fell as rain below 800m. Some areas in the Monashees got as much as 60cm of storm snow. Snow was falling through most of the region Friday, again as rain lower down. Winds were moderate or light out of the Southwest. The weather forecast calls for a series of moisture events throughout the weekend, as Pacific disturbances come onshore in waves about 24 hours apart. The freezing level is expected to hover around 1000m, occasionally going as high as 1500m. SNOWPACK: The moderate winds combined with March temperatures were enough to form a soft windslab in exposed areas at and above treeline. An easy shear just under the storm snow was still reactive Thursday in the Revelstoke area, but was reported as strengthening further north near Valemount. The February 21 buried surface hoar layer now down 75cm has not caught anyone since the 13th, but more loading is on the way. AVALANCHES: A widespread cycle of small windslab releases ran mid week, with the occasional incident of human triggering as well. This activity was predominantly failing in or just under the storm snow/wind slab. Propagation was light. Ski cutting on steep alpine terrain features could still reach and trigger slabs on the February 21 buried surface hoar, particularly on North facing slopes. DANGER: ABOVE TREELINE - Considerable BELOW TREELINE - Considerable TRAVEL ADVISORY: Rain at low elevations will be a large factor in taking the snowpack toward isothermal. Also, expect overnight lows below treeline to remain above zero. The February 21st buried surface hoar is likely to come to life again with this weekend's loading. Don't forget the activity last week on the November crust too quickly, as we are going into another period of snowpack loading. SOUTH COLUMBIA REGION WEATHER: The South Columbias managed to escape the winds midweek in most areas, and storm snow amounts of 40 to 60cm caused some smiles. Stagleap park got a pulse of big winds Tuesday night as a cold front passed through. The forecast calls for stronger winds throughout on Thursday, then tapering off for the weekend. A series of moisture events are predicted throughout the weekend, coming in waves a day apart. SNOWPACK: A shear in the storm snow was still reactive Thursday in the north part of the region, while further south it was tightening in. The February 21st buried surface hoar layer is still evident and although it has not been the cause of an involvement since Monday, it has been getting quite a load of storm snow on it in the last few days, and more is on the way. The Y2K and November crust layers are still evident and waiting. AVALANCHES: Most areas report natural activity to size 2 in the storm snow. One natural near Nakusp was reported on the February 21st layer Wednesday. Explosive control in the Kootenay Pass area near Stagleap Park produced results to size 3.5 in wind loaded storm snow. DANGER: ABOVE TREELINE - Considerable BELOW TREELINE - Considerable TRAVEL ADVISORY: Isothermal snow is being reported below treeline in many areas, and more rain will make it worse. For years, the Ministry of Transportation and Highways crew at Kootenay Pass has been going out of their way to volunteer their expertise and time to help with the South Columbia section of this bulletin. Next time you see their yellow truck parked on the side of the highway in the middle of the night during a snow storm, give them a honk to let them know you appreciate the contribution. ROCKIES REGION WEATHER: Periods of snowfall during the week brought roughly 15cm of storm snow to the Mountain Parks region, and closer to 30cm down near Fernie. Winds remained moderate out of the west. The weather forecast calls for increasingly strong winds, and more snow. SNOWPACK: A soft slab has formed throughout the entire region in the alpine, from the wind midweek. The November crust is still evident as a weak layer deep in the snowpack. Below treeline, the snowpack has warmed to zero degrees, and will be quite weak, particularly during the afternoons. AVALANCHES: Some natural and explosive control related slides in the storm snow were still being reported Thursday. In the south, where more snow fell, ski cutting was still reliably producing slab releases. Afternoon radiation was producing wet, loose releases on south facing slopes, particularly at lower elevations DANGER: ABOVE TREELINE - Considerable BELOW TREELINE - Considerable in the afternoons TRAVEL ADVISORY: March is the month when the majority of serious avalanche incidents occur. The snowpack is warming up as the sun climbs higher in the sky and the days become longer. The forecast calls for periods of snow broken by sunny breaks. Watch out for cornices falling this weekend as the new snow is driven by the wind over ridgetops, causing cornice mass to grow.