Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Below Threshold.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
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
South Columbia.
Please help support these bulletins. If you have been out in the mountains recently, feel free to send your observations to [email protected].
Confidence
Poor - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
Friday: A chance of light precipitation to northern portions of the forecast region otherwise dry conditions. Winds will be moderate to strong westerly at ridge top. Freezing levels rise to 900m and mostly cloudy conditions.Saturday: Light precipitation and moderate westerly winds at ridge top. Freezing levels at valley bottom and cloudy conditions.Outlook for Sunday: The arctic front moves south colliding with a low pressure system lingering over the southern portion of the province. Moderate (locally heavy) precipitation and strong winds are expected. There is some uncertainty in the timing of the cold front as the models vary.
Avalanche Summary
No reports of recent avalanche activity have been received. This may speak more to the lack of reported observations rather than actual conditions. If you have information please feel free to contact us at [email protected]
Snowpack Summary
The region has seen generally dry conditions for the past week. Recent reports have been limited but observations suggest the depth of snow ranges from 110 to 160cm at treeline across the forecast region. A surface hoar layer growing on the surface appears to be spotty in distribution and more likely found on shaded, sheltered terrain features. On steep, south facing slopes, a sun crust has developed. Warm temperatures have continued to settle the upper and mid snowpack. Within the mid snowpack is a layer of surface hoar buried in mid-November ranging from 50-90cms in depth. Deeper, an October crust/facet combo exists near the base of the snowpack. Limited reports suggest these layers are becoming difficult to trigger. However, if triggered, persistent slabs have the potential to cause surprisingly large, destructive avalanches.
Problems
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.