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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 12th, 2020–Mar 13th, 2020

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

South Coast.

Surface crust may prevent wind redistribution at lower elevations, but a switch to increasing northeast winds means to watch for touchy new slabs forming outside of the usual areas on Friday.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Thursday night: Becoming cloudy. Light northwest winds shifting northeast.

Friday: Mainly cloudy. Light to moderate northeast winds increasing over the day. Alpine high temperatures around -8.

Saturday: A mix of sun and cloud. Light to moderate northeast winds easing over the day. Alpine high temperatures around -10.

Sunday: Sunny. Light northeast winds. Alpine high temperatures around -5.

Avalanche Summary

Reports of avalanche activity from Tuesday's storm remain limited, however images in two MIN reports from Wednesday gives a good indication of recent human triggering potential in the alpine around Sky Pilot. 

Looking forward, expect the new snow that accumulated over variable surfaces on Tuesday to remain potentially reactive to human triggering over the short term. The most suspect areas will be steeper slopes at higher elevations that saw more dramatic wind loading during and immediately after the storm.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 30 cm of new snow from Tuesday's storm can be found in alpine and upper treeline areas of the region, with new snow amounts tapering dramatically with elevation. The new snow buried a mix of surface hoar and melt-freeze crust that varies with elevation and aspect. The bond at this interface is expected to be gradually improving.

The remainder of the snowpack is well-settled. The snowpack depth varies from around 300 to 400 cm around 1200 to 1400 m and tapering rapidly with elevation, with no snow below 700 m.

Terrain and Travel

  • Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.

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.