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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 25th, 2013–Mar 26th, 2013

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 Coast.

Confidence

Fair - Timing or intensity of solar radiation is uncertain

Weather Forecast

Tuesday: No snow. Cloudy. Light SW winds. Alpine temperature near +1. Wednesday: Light snow. Light SE winds. Alpine temperature near +1. Thursday: Light snow. Light SW winds. Alpine temperature near +1.

Avalanche Summary

On Sunday, some small sluffs were reported. An unsettling whumph was felt at 1900 m on a south aspect.  

Snowpack Summary

The snowpack is variable across the region. Recent storm snow has been redistributed by shifting winds into wind slabs over various crust layers in the upper snowpack. On sun-baked and low elevation slopes, a melt-freeze cycle is in play at the snow surface, leaving a crust behind during overnight cooling, which may break down by day. Surface hoar, buried down about 50-90 cm, still shows reactivity in snowpack tests, but in general, triggering this layer has become less likely. It still remains possible with a heavy load or from a thin-spot trigger point. Cornices are large and unstable in some areas. Warm temperatures may weaken them further.

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.

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.