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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 28th, 2015–Dec 29th, 2015

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

Regions

Northwest Inland.

If you've been playing in the mountains, please consider submitting your observations to the MIN. We'd love to know what you've seen out there!

Confidence

Moderate - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

A ridge of high pressure has set up over the province and will bring mainly clear skies for the forecast period. Ridgetop winds should remain light and northwesterly on Tuesday and Wednesday. Winds will switch to southwesterly on Thursday intensifying throughout the day. Alpine temperatures should sit between -12 and -16 on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then rise slightly on Thursday.

Avalanche Summary

No recent avalanches have been reported.

Snowpack Summary

Light amounts (10-15cm) of snow fell over the weekend with slightly higher amounts expected in the far west of the region. Variable winds have likely shifted the new snow into fresh and reactive wind slabs in upper elevation lee terrain. We're still dealing with a thin, early-season snowpack for much of the Northwest Inland region. Between 80 and 100 cm of snow can be found at tree-line in the south and west of the region, with closer to 60 cm in the east. A weak basal layer probably exists in most areas, and I suspect that the ongoing cold temperatures have continued to promote faceting in the snowpack, especially in shallow, rocky areas.

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.