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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 5th, 2024–Mar 6th, 2024

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

South Okanagan, Shuswap, North Okanagan.

Look for signs of instability and assess for wind slabs. Small avalanches could step down to weak layers deeper in the snowpack.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Reports from this region have been limited, with a size 1 human-triggered wind slab reported on an east aspect on Monday, and an explosive-triggered size 1.5 storm slab reported on Saturday. However, neighboring regions have reported numerous large to very large natural and human-triggered persistent slab avalanches. Although not as large or likely, triggering persistent slabs is a concern in this region too.

Snowpack Summary

Surface conditions include a dusting of new snow, sun crust on south aspects, and wind-affected snow in the alpine.

A widespread crust that formed in early February is buried roughly 40 to 80 cm deep, possibly with a weak layer of facets above it. In neighbouring regions, this layer has produced many large and concerning avalanches over the past week.

The snowpack below this crust is strong and bonded.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Clear skies. 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -15 °C.

Wednesday

Sunny. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Thursday

Sunny. 25 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Friday

Mix of sun and cloud. 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Fresh snow rests on a problematic persistent slab, don't let good riding lure you into complacency.
  • Use ridges or ribs to avoid areas of wind loaded snow.
  • Remote triggering is a concern, watch out for adjacent and overhead slopes.
  • If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.