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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 7th, 2023–Apr 8th, 2023

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

Regions

Long Range Mountains, Corner Brook, Gros Morne, Northern Peninsula.

The most likely place to trigger an avalanche is on leeward slopes in the alpine where new and recent snow has been wind-loaded into reactive slabs.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Wind slabs and cornices have been reactive in the past few days. Natural and human-triggered wind slabs size 1-2 were reported in the White Hills and Big Level areas. Wind slabs were predominantly on east aspects in the alpine. Natural cornice falls were observed in the Tablelands.

Snowpack Summary

5-15 cm of new snow falls amid strong northwest wind over wind-hardened surfaces in the alpine and crust at lower elevations.

Snow from earlier in the week appears to be well-bonded to an underlying rain crust but contains a few storm interfaces 20-40 cm deep that remain reactive in snowpack tests. This may include a layer of graupel which could be slow to bond.

The remainder of the snowpack is composed of alternating layers of crusts and wind-hardened snow, effectively bridging any deeper weak layers.

Weather Summary

Friday night

5-10 cm of new snow. Strong northwest wind. Alpine low -10. Freezing level dropping to sea level.

Saturday

Flurries bringing up to 5 cm of new snow. Moderate northwest wind. Alpine high -10.

Sunday

Around 5 cm of new snow. Moderate westerly wind. Alpine high -10.

Monday

5-15 cm of new snow overnight then clearing to a mix of sun and cloud. Strong northwest wind easing to moderate. Alpine high -3. Freezing level rising to 500 m.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy. Moderate southwest wind. Alpine high +3. Freezing level rising to 1000m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid freshly wind loaded terrain features.
  • Recent new snow may be hiding windslabs that were easily visible before the snow fell.
  • Look for signs of instability: whumphing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, and recent avalanches.
  • Use extra caution around cornices: they are large, fragile, and can trigger slabs on slopes below.

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.