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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 23rd, 2023–Apr 24th, 2023

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, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Below Threshold.

Regions

Cariboos, Kootenay Boundary, Clearwater, Quesnel, Bonnington, Grohman, Kootenay Pass, Norns, Rossland, South Okanagan, Ymir, Shuswap, North Okanagan.

Expect continued rain down low, and a sloppy mixture of rain and snow up high. Warm temperatures, rain, and the lack of overnight freeze zaps the strength out of the snow..

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new reports of avalanches on Friday or Saturday. Please remember there are few eyes out in the mountains still submitting regular reports.

Storm Slab or Wind Slab avalanches may occur Monday ion the highest peaks if more than 20 cm of new snow accumulates. At low elevations avalanche activity may increase if snow becomes saturated by rain.

Snowpack Summary

Generally, spring is advancing and the winter snowpack is melting away, at least at lower elevations.

Dry, powder snow may remain at the highest elevations on north-facing terrain, along with the potential for fresh wind and storm slabs. While melt-freeze crusts or moist snow are likely to be found on steep solar slopes and at lower elevations.

Avalanche danger will be closely coupled to warm temperatures, rain, and melting. The more the crust weakens, and the deeper the wetness goes, the greater the hazard from wet loose avalanches.

The mid- and lower-snowpack is generally well-settled. In some areas, the lower snowpack may have a layer of weak facets near the ground.

Weather Summary

Sunday Overnight

Cloudy. Precipitation 5 to 10 mm falling as snow in the alpine, rain down low, and sloppy snow in between . Light to moderate southwest winds. Treeline temperatures around zero and freezing level around 2000 m.

Monday

Mostly cloudy. Trace to 5 mm water equivalent of precipitation (rain low, sloppy snow around treeline, snow alpine). Freezing level remaining between 1500 to 2000m. Treeline temperature around zero. Light westerly wind.

Tuesday

Generally clearing up and drying out kind of day. Trace of precipitation. Ridgetop wind light but gusting moderate from the west. Treeline temperatures near zero in the moring rising to +8 late in the day. Freezing level around 2000 m rising to 2300 m.

Wednesday

Increasing sun and warming up. No preciptiation. Moderate to strong westerly wind, freezing level rising to around 2700 m, treeline temperature could rise as high as +12 C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • The more the snowpack warms-up and weakens, the more conservative you`ll want to be with your terrain selection.
  • The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.
  • Shooting cracks, whumphs and recent avalanches are strong indicators of an unstable snowpack.

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.

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.