Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 27th, 2024–Jan 28th, 2024

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

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.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

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

The Pineapple Express prevails! The snowpack, or rather "slushpack", continues to be soaked by heavy precipitation.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Observations from alpine terrain in this forecast region have been limited. We suspect that natural wet avalanches have been occurring at all elevations.

Snowpack Summary

The snowpack is becoming fully saturated with water as heavy rain continues to fall. Below treeline the snowpack is disappearing.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Cloudy with 50 to 110 mm of rain. South alpine wind, 40 to 60 km/h. Freezing level 2500 m.

Sunday

Cloudy with 5 to 10 mm of rain during the day, up to an additional 60 mm overnight. South alpine wind, 40 to 60 km/h. Freezing level rising to 2600 m.

Monday

Cloudy with 30 to 70 mm of rain during the day, up to an additional 100 mm overnight. South alpine wind, 50 to 80 km/h. Freezing level rising to 2600 m.

Tuesday

Cloudy with 10 to 25 mm of rain. South alpine wind, 20 to 30 km/h. Freezing level falling to 2000 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

A moist or wet snow surface, pinwheeling and natural avalanches are all indicators of a weakening snowpack.
The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.

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.