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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 27th, 2025–Mar 28th, 2025

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

Coquihalla, Manning, Skagit.

Avoid steep, rocky, and wind-affected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Tuesday, a size 3.5 persistent slab avalanche was observed on a north aspect in the alpine that likely failed last weekend. Several loose wet avalanches on sunny slopes were also observed in this MIN post.

Looking forward: New snow and wind in the alpine may have built isolated, but reactive wind slabs on leeward (north though east) facing slopes.

Reports have been very limited. Please consider sharing your observations to the MIN.

Snowpack Summary

Recent rain and warming have saturated the upper snowpack on all aspects and elevations, except high north-facing alpine slopes. A crust will likely form as temperatures cool, and a dusting of around 5 cm of new snow falls overtop the moist/wet surface snow. Below 1800 m, the snowpack has shrunk considerably. A weak layer of facets and surface hoar from February is now 90 to 150 cm deep, and a layer of facets and surface hoar from late January is buried 110 to 190 cm. Below this, the snowpack is generally well-settled and strong.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Cloudy with 2 to 5 cm of snow above 1500 m, potential rain below. 15 to 25 km/h south ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1800m, dropping to 1500 m.

Friday

Partly cloudy, with up to 2 cm of snow, potential rain below. 15 to 30 km/h south ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level rising to 1700 m.

Saturday

Cloudy with 1 to 5 cm of snow above 1300 m, potential rain below. 25 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature +2 °C. Freezing level rising to 1600 m.

Sunday

Sunny. 15 to 25 km/h southeast ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature +3 °C. Freezing level rising to 2100 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid freshly wind-loaded terrain features.
  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation, aspect, and exposure to wind.
  • If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.
  • In areas where deep persistent slabs may exist, avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks and slopes above cliffs.

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.

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.