Avalanche forecast

South Coast

Mar 21, 2018Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 9 years ago

Avalanche danger

Thu
Fri
Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low

Highlights

It is a good time to be traveling in the mountains, but remember that low danger does not mean no danger. Loose wet avalanche activity should be limited Wednesday, but stubborn old wind slabs and large cornices demand our respect.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–1.5
    It is a good time to be traveling in the mountains. Increased cloud cover should put the brakes on loose wet activity. Use normal caution and be aware that small wind slabs near ridge crest may be sensitive to human triggering.

Confidence

Moderate - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain on Thursday

Weather Forecast

Wednesday looks to be the last day of rather vanilla weather before a significant change Thursday.  The pattern is incredibly dynamic as we move towards the weekend, this is a great time to check out our Mountain Weather Forecast (link below) if you are curious.  Suffice to say that Wednesday does not offer much change, but then significant rain/snow and plenty of wind is in store at least through Friday.WEDNESDAY: Broken cloud cover, freezing level holding at 1200 m, moderate southerly wind, trace of precipitation during the day, 5 to 7 mm of precipitation expected Wednesday night. THURSDAY: Overcast, freezing level starting at 1600 m, lowering to 700 m by sundown, strong southerly wind, 20 to 30 mm of precipitation. FRIDAY:  Broken cloud cover, freezing level holding around 600 m, light southerly wind, 5 to 8 mm of precipitation possible.

Avalanche Summary

No recent notable avalanches have been reported.

Snowpack Summary

Last week's storm brought up to 15 cm of new snow to the alpine while rain saturated the upper snowpack at treeline and below. Surface conditions on solar aspects and below about 1500 m have been affected by daily melt-freeze cycles. In the limited alpine terrain where the recent precipitation fell as snow, stubborn old wind slabs may remain sensitive to human triggering.Below any recent snow accumulations, the overall snowpack is well settled and strong. Cornices loom over many ridge lines. Cornices become more unstable during the day as the temperature rises, especially when they are receiving direct sun.

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