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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 25th, 2023–Mar 26th, 2023

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Vancouver Island, East Island, South Island, West Island.

Expect the sun and warm temperatures to rapidly unconsolidated the upper snowpack and promote the creation of both wet and dry loose avalanches.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Wednesday , field teams reported several loose wet avalanches on south aspect terrain. Explosive avalanche control utilizing a large explosive on a steep north aspect incised rocky gulley feature produced a large (size 2.5) slab avalanche. This avalanche ran on an old melt freeze crust, was 100 cm deep at the crown and ran to the bottom of the run out.

Backcountry users will likely see evidence of a small wet loose avalanche cycle from recent rain and solar input below treeline.

If you head out in the backcountry, let us know what you are seeing by submitting a report to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

In terrain above 1600 m up to 10 cm of preserved and wind affected dry snow is likely to exist. An established melt freeze crust can be found at elevations 1600 m and below, expect the new forecast snowfall to take a little time to bond to this old surface. At all elevations the mid and lower snowpack has a number of old melt freeze crusts that are unreactive and overall presents as consolidated, well settled and strong.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Cloudy with flurries, 1 to 5 cm of accumulation. Moderate north winds at ridge top. Treeline temperature -6°C. Freezing levels descend to sea level.

Sunday

Cloudy with some afternoon clearing, no new precipitation. Moderate southeast winds at ridge top. Treeline temperature -1°C. Freezing levels rise to 1000 m.

Monday

Cloudy, becoming clear in the afternoon. No new precipitation. Moderate to strong southeast winds at ridge top. Treeline temperature 0°C. Freezing levels rise to 1500 m.

Tuesday

Cloudy, becoming clear in the afternoon. No new precipitation. Moderate to strong southeast winds at ridge top. Treeline temperature 0°C. Freezing levels rise to 1500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Loose avalanches may start small but they can grow and push you into dangerous terrain.
  • Rocks will heat up with daytime warming and may become trigger points for loose wet avalanches
  • As surface loses cohesion due to melting, loose wet avalanches become common in steeper terrain.

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.