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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 31st, 2022–Jan 1st, 2023

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

Regions

South Coast, North Shore, Sasquatch.

Happy New Year! A soggy moisture laden snowpack may continue to produce wet loose avalanches in steep terrain. Have a safe start to the new year by avoiding steep slopes and terrain traps where even a small avalanche could have large consequences.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Numerous loose wet avalanches have been reported over the past few days. Loose wet activity is expected to continue as the snowpack remains rain-saturated and weak.

Please continue to post your observations and photos to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

15-30 cm of moist new snow overlies an unsupportive crust. The remainder of the snowpack is moisture-saturated and isothermal to the ground. If temperatures cool, a crust may be found on the snow surface.

Treeline snow depths are roughly 150 to 200 cm.

Weather Summary

Saturday night

Cloudy with clear periods. Alpine temperatures drop to a low of -2 °C. Mostly light westerly ridge wind occasionally gusting to 30 km/h. Freezing level drops to 800 metres.

Sunday

A mix of sun and cloud. Alpine temperatures reach a high of 0 °C. Ridge wind southeast 10-20 km/h. Freezing level rises to 1100 metres.

Monday

Cloudy with sunny periods. Alpine temperatures reach a high of 3 °C. Ridge wind southeast 20 km/h gusting to 45 km/h. Freezing level rises to 1400 metres.

Tuesday

Cloudy with snowfall, 10-15 cm of accumulation. Alpine temperatures reach a high of -1 °C. Ridge wind southeast 25-35 km/h. Freezing level rises to 1000 metres.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.
  • Loose avalanches may start small but they can grow and push you into dangerous terrain.
  • Keep in mind that wet avalanches can be destructive due to their high density.

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.