Avalanche forecast

Northwest Coastal

Feb 3 – 4, 2014Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 13 years ago

Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2
    Light dry snow has created pockets of thin windslabs lee of strong winds that could still be possible to trigger under the load of a skier or a sledder. In sheltered areas, this snow is prone to sluffing in steep terrain.

Confidence

Good

Weather Forecast

Tonight and Tuesday: Cold and clear conditions will prevail over the Northwest region. Winds are forecasted to be strong from the NE and alpine temperatures to be around -18 C.Wednesday: A weak upper trough might bring a trace of precipitation. Moderate winds from the E are forecasted with alpine temperatures warming up slightly to around -13 C.Thursday: A similar pattern should persist with lighter winds from the SE with clear skies.

Avalanche Summary

There was report of small loose dry avalanches in very steep terrain and of a skier triggered slab avalanche size 1 in a thin windslab.

Snowpack Summary

5-10 cm of dry snow has been redistributed by strong winds from the NE-SE winds creating pockets of relatively thin windslabs on immediate lee features in the alpine and at treeline. These windslabs are sitting on weak surfaces like a crust or on the late January surface hoar layer. It has been reported that they are reactive to skier traffic. A well settled mid and lower snowpack is resting on basal facets, which is a concern especially in thin snowpack areas at higher elevations. At the surface of the snowpack, there is widespread growth of surface hoar and surface facetting which should continue with the forecasted clear and cold temperatures.

Regions covered