B.C. avalanche warning issued

The Canadian Avalanche Centre in Revelstoke, B.C., has issued a special avalanche warning for the mountainous rural areas of the province's South Coast area.

The warning is in effect from Friday through to Monday.

Snow from recent storms is resting on an unusually weak layer within the snow-pack, the centre said in a release late Thursday.

The snow-pack conditions coupled with temperatures well above freezing have created a situation in which avalanches could easily be triggered, the release said.

"It's going to stay unstable for three or four days," said spokesman Karl Klassen.

Daytime temperatures in southwestern B.C. have hoveredbetween 5C and 8C since Tuesday.

The most popular snow recreation areas in the region include Duffy Lake, north of Whistler, the Spearhead Range southeast of Whistler, the Sea-to-Sky corridor between Whistler and Vancouver and the Coquihalla Pass between Vancouver and Kelowna.