An arctic air mass is approaching the Gaspé Peninsula, bringing very cold temperatures to the mountains from Tuesday morning. We're talking about a wind chill of -40C. A small incident in the hinterland can turn into a catastrophe at such temperatures.
The snow that has fallen in recent days is very light and lends itself well to transport. Recent moderate winds from the south and west are creating new windslabs on opposite slopes.
We have received a report of a size 1 avalanche triggered by a skier on Craggy (Colonel) in the Mont Blanc sector. The avalanche occurred on Sunday, January 21, on a northeast aspect, at 700m altitude on a 40-45° convexity. The avalanche had a crown of 60 cm, a width of 15m and a length of 30m. The avalanche would have slid over facets that developed on the New Year's Day crust.
If you go into the backcountry, thanks for sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network (MIN).
There appears to be considerable spatial variability at all elevations. Snowpack heights range from 25 cm to 180 cm.
Alpine: The whole of the alpine appears bare of snow, except for concavities and depressions.
Treeline: Between 5 and 15 cm of very light new snow covers wind-affected snow. There is more snow on the northern and eastern slopes, and it rests on an interface of facets that have developed on the New Year's crust.
Below treeline: Depending on slope and elevation, there is considerable spatial variability. The southern slopes appear to be at a disadvantage.
Synopsis: An arctic air mass accompanied by strong northwesterly winds will settle over the Chic-Chocs starting Tuesday morning for a period of 24 hours. We'll then return to seasonal values, and possibly a few cm of snow towards the end of the week.
Monday evening and night: Cloudy. 1 to 2 cm of snow. Moderate northwesterly wind, 30-50 km/h. Minimum -10C.
Tuesday: Snow ending in the morning. Mostly cloudy. Strong north-westerly wind, 40 to 50 km/h. Cooling during the day to a minimum of -25C. Wind chill of -40C.
Wednesday: Alternating sun and clouds. Moderate south-westerly wind, 20 to 30 km/h. Maximum -15C.
Thursday: Mostly cloudy. Moderate northwesterly wind, 20 to 30 km/h. Maximum -6C.
For more details, check out the most recent alpine weather forecast.
