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

Mar 23rd, 2025–Mar 24th, 2025

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

Regions

South Coast, Powell River, North Shore, Sasquatch, Sasquatch, Sky Pilot, Tetrahedron, Skagit.

During periods of high hazard, avoid all avalanche terrain.

A large natural avalanche cycle will continue, with snow followed by rain and warming.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Looking ahead, we expect a large natural avalanche cycle to continue with snowfall and extreme winds, followed by rain-on-snow and warming.

On Saturday at Grouse Mountain, numerous size 2 storm slabs were triggered remotely, up to 50 cm deep.

Thanks for sharing your observations to the MIN.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 60 mm of precipitation is expected by Monday's end, falling as snow above 1600 m and as rain below this elevation. This is in addition to the 50 cm of snow from Sunday. Throughout this stormy period, winds have been from the southwest, so expect deeper and more reactive deposits on north—and east-facing slopes. Expect to find rain-soaked, moist snow below 1600 m.

This overlies up to a meter of previous settling storm snow, which was reportedly well-bonded to an underlying, supportive crust, that is now expected to be 180 to 250 cm deep.

Below this, the snowpack is well-settled and strong.

See this North Shore SAR report for additional information.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Cloudy with up to 25 mm, falling as snow above 1500 m. Locally greater amounts are possible near Seymour. 40 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature 2 °C.

Monday

Cloudy with 20 to 35 mm, falling as snow above 1600 m. 40 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature 3 °C.

Tuesday

In the overnight period, 15 to 20 mm falling as snow above 2000 m.

Cloudy with up to 10 mm, falling as snow above 2500 m. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 8 °C.

Wednesday

Mostly cloudy with trace precipitation amounts. 50 km/h southeast ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature 8 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid avalanche terrain during periods of heavy loading from new snow, wind, or rain.
  • Only the most simple non-avalanche terrain with no overhead hazard is appropriate at this time.
  • Use extra caution for areas that are experiencing rapidly warming temperatures for the first time.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.

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.