Avalanche forecast

Northwest Inland

Dec 8 – 9, 2013Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Tue
Wed
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–4
    New soft wind slabs could develop in exposed lee terrain if we see a few cm's of light snow fall with moderate northwesterly winds. Old dense or hard slabs are also lurking on a variety of aspects.

Confidence

Poor - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

Monday: Mainly cloudy with light snow developing – around 5 cm. Freezing level remains at valley bottom and winds are moderate to strong from the Northwest. Tuesday: Cloudy with light to moderate snow – 5-10 cm. Freezing level remains at valley bottom but temperatures are starting to moderate. Winds should be light to moderate from the W-NW.Wednesday: The flow finally changes to southwesterly bringing a pacific frontal system to the region with moderate precipitation and milder temperatures.

Avalanche Summary

No recent avalanches have been reported; however, reports are limited.

Snowpack Summary

Snowpack depths are likely highly variable across the region, with elevation, and in wind-exposed areas. Low-elevation and wind-affected areas likely have a shallow faceted snowpack. While in higher elevation sheltered areas the recent storm snow is likely settling and gaining strength; however, weaknesses at the old snow interface down approximately 40cm may still need time to heal. In the Ashman Ridge area on Sunday, this interface gave easy compression test results. Northerly outflow winds are likely forming fresh wind slabs in exposed lee terrain and scouring windward terrain. Average snowpack depths near treeline are highly variable, but around a metre in sheltered areas.

Regions covered