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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 13th, 2014–Jan 14th, 2014

Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Northwest Coastal.

Confidence

Fair - Freezing levels are uncertain on Thursday

Weather Forecast

Synopsis: A ridge of high pressure will build to the south deflecting a series of storms at the North Coast driving freezing levels into the alpine. A sub-tropical moisture stream looks to feed these systems so expect moderate to heavy precipitation especially in the north of the region. The precipitation will likely fall as rain in the south becoming snow further north.Tonight and Tuesday: Heavy snow becoming rain / Strong to extreme southwest winds / Freezing levels rising overnight to 1700m.Wednesday: Mainly cloudy / Light south west winds / Freezing level to drop to 900mThursday: Mainly cloudy / light southwest winds / Freezing levels 1900m

Avalanche Summary

It sounds like things are starting to wake up with the warming trend and intensifying precipitation producing storm slab avalanche across the region ranging in size from 1 to 2.5.

Snowpack Summary

Reports suggest that the snowpack is shallower and more faceted in the northern of the region, in the south it is deeper with more wind slab problems. Professionals in the area note there is much more variability in snow cover this year compared to most years.Around the Skeena corridor 70-80cm of settling storm snow overlies a variety of old surfaces including surface hoar in sheltered locations, and wind-affected snow at upper elevations. Windslabs are developing on north to north east lee features. Depending on your location, you may find a facet/crust combo or surface hoar from early in January sitting below the storm snow surface. Report suggest these layers are gaining strength; however, they may be worth keeping an eye on as the snow load above them increases.Below this the mid and lower snowpack is gaining strength. The exception is where a layer of week snow is lingering just above the ground in the shallower snowpack found in the North of the region.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.