Avalanche forecast

South Coast

Dec 4, 2018Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

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

Change is in the air with forecast warming and sunshine set to promote surface instabilities on Tuesday.

Avalanche problems

  • Cornices

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2
    Cornices have likely formed along many alpine ridgelines. These can fail under the weight of a person or group. Cornices weaken under the influence of sunshine and warm temperatures.

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–1.5
    Rising temperatures and strong sunshine will destabillize surface snow and promote loose wet avalanche activity on sun-exposed slopes on Tuesday. Loose wet slides may occur naturally or with a human trigger.

Confidence

Moderate - Timing or intensity of solar radiation is uncertain

Weather Forecast

Monday night: Clear skies. Light northeast winds.Tuesday: Sunny with some low cloud. Light northwest winds. Alpine high temperatures increasing to around 0 as freezing levels rise to 1500 metres, increasing overnight.Wednesday: Sunny. Light northeast winds. Alpine high temperatures around +3 with freezing levels reaching 2200 metres.Thursday: Sunny with scattered cloud. Light northeast winds. Alpine temperatures around +2 with freezing levels still hovering near 2200 metres.

Avalanche Summary

No avalanches have been reported. Please submit any observations you have to the Mountain Information Network here.

Snowpack Summary

The warm storm early last week produced over 200 mm of precipitation that mostly fell as rain. This rain washed away much of the snowpack at lower elevations. The highest alpine terrain in the region more likely received heavy snowfall during the storm. This snowfall, paired with extreme winds out of the south/southwest is likely to have produced cornice growth along many ridgelines.Alpine areas near Squamish have the most snow, with around 70 cm of settled snow on the ground. In these areas there may be a crust lower in the snowpack, however it is likely now well bonded to the overlying storm snow. It is thought that there is insufficient snow for avalanches below 1500 m.

Regions covered