Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 20th, 2022–Jan 21st, 2022

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

South Coast.

Major warming and sun are expected to destabilize the upper snowpack over the next few days. Cornices will begin to weaken on Friday and wet loose activity is expected on steep sun exposed slopes. 

Confidence

Moderate - Uncertainty is due to rapidly fluctuating freezing levels. Uncertainty is due to the timing or intensity of solar radiation and its effect on the snowpack.

Weather Forecast

A warm ridge of high pressure establishes itself over the region on Friday and is expected to bring sustained freezing levels around 3000 m with an inversion for the weekend. 

Thursday Night: Skies clearing overnight, light to moderate NW wind, freezing levels 1200-1400 m. 

Friday: A mix of sun and cloud, light to moderate NW wind, freezing levels climbing to around 3000 m with an inversion. 

Saturday: A mix of sun and cloud, moderate NW wind, freezing levels around 3200 m with an inversion. 

Sunday: A mix of sun and cloud, moderate W wind, freezing levels around 3000 m dropping to around 2000 m overnight. 

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanche activity have been reported over the last few days.

If you head out into the mountains, please share any observations or photos on the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

Heavy rain and warm temperatures have saturated the surface snow to mountain top elevations and a widespread crust is now expected where the snow surface has refrozen. Below this, snow is moist down 50-100 cm where several old crust are now breaking down. 

Around 150 to 200 cm deep, sugary faceted grains may sit above a melt freeze crust, that formed during the cold spell in late December. Reports suggest that the snowpack has been bonding well to these layers. The middle and base of the snowpack are strong, consisting of well-bonded snow and various hard melt-freeze crusts.

Terrain and Travel

  • The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.
  • Avoid exposure to steep, sun exposed slopes, especially when the solar radiation is strong.
  • Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.

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.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.