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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 26th, 2023–Dec 27th, 2023

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

Regions

Vancouver Island, East Island, North Island, South Island, West Island.

Watch for changing conditions over the day and be prepared to adjust your trip plan.

Heavy rain may switch to snow at higher elevations forming fresh slabs.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported.

We expect avalanches to have occurred at all elevations above threshold during heavy winds, rain and snow.

Please help out your backcountry community by submitting a MIN report if you head out to the backcountry.

Snowpack Summary

Continued snow and rain are expected over the day. The warm and moist snow will settle rapidly, becoming dense and presenting as a slab. Strong southerly winds have likely continued to transport new snow, building deeper slabs at higher elevations. Below treeline, you'll find dirt, or shallow and wet snow.

The current snow depth ranges from 40 to 90 cm, diminishing rapidly below 1000 m.

Terrain features with smooth ground cover, gullies, or established avalanche paths are above the threshold for avalanches.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Cloudy with 10 cm of snow. Freezing levels rise towards 1800 m. Southerly winds increase, 70-100 km/h.

Wednesday

Cloudy. Freezing levels drop to around 1500 m, 15-30 cm of snow possible above, rain below. Treeline temperature around 2 °C. Strong southerly winds continue, 70-90 km/h.

Heavy snow continues overnight.

Thursday

Cloudy. Freezing levels rise to 2000 m over the day. Up to 15 cm of snow above this, and rain below. Treeline temperature around 4 °C. Southerly winds, 60-80 km/h.

Friday

Cloudy. Up to 15 cm of snow on mountain tops, rain below 2000 m. Treeline temperature around 4 °C. Southerly winds, 60-80 km/h.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Early season avalanches at any elevation have the potential to be particularly dangerous due to obstacles that are exposed or just below the surface.
  • Minimize exposure during periods of heavy loading from rain.

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

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.