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
Cariboos.
There is a lot of uncertainty with the reactivity of the buried surface hoar layer down 40-80 cm. Human triggered avalanches are more likely at treeline and sheltered locations in the alpine where this weak layer exists. New Forecaster blog HERE.
Confidence
Low - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
Overnight THURSDAY: Cloudy with isolated flurries / Alpine Low -8 / Light, west wind / Freezing level valley bottom.FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy / Alpine high -6 / Light, southeast wind / Freezing level valley bottom.SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy / Alpine high -6 / Light, northeast wind / Freezing level valley bottom.SUNDAY: Mix of sun and cloud / Alpine high -7 / Light, northwest wind / Freezing level valley bottom.
Avalanche Summary
No avalanches were reported in this region on Wednesday. However, we currently have very few observations from within this region. Please post your observations to the Mountain Information Network. (MIN)
Snowpack Summary
Recent storm snow amounts range from 40-70 cm. This new snow sits on top of a weak layer of surface hoar (feathery crystals) and sun crust on steep south facing slopes. The surface hoar is most pronounced at treeline, but it may be found in sheltered, north facing alpine areas.At the base of the snowpack is a crust that formed in late October. There have been no reports of reactivity on this layer; however, this layer may be reactive to human triggers in isolated locations such as steep, rocky terrain, with a shallow snowpack. Small avalanches may step-down to this crust resulting in large, destructive avalanchesSnowpack depths decrease dramatically with elevation.
Problems
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.