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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 7th, 2014–Mar 8th, 2014

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

Regions

Northwest Coastal.

Confidence

Fair

Weather Forecast

Saturday: Mainly cloudy with periods of light snow and possible sunny breaks around 5 cm. The freezing level is around 1000 m in the north and 1400 m in the south. Winds are moderate to strong from the S-SW. Sunday: Periods of snow 10-15 cm. The freezing level is around 800-1000 m. Winds are moderate to strong from the S-SW. Monday: Mainly cloudy with a chance of flurries. The freezing level is around 800-1000 m. Winds are moderate S-SW.

Avalanche Summary

Some loose dry sluffing was reported in steep terrain on Thursday. This will likely change to slab avalanche activity as the snow piles up and the overlying slab becomes more cohesive with warming temperatures.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 25 cm of new snow (at the time of writing) now sits on a layer of surface hoar or sugary faceted snow on shady slopes, a sun crust on steep solar aspects, or hard wind slabs and scoured slopes in exposed terrain. Initial tests on this new interface showed a poor bond between the new snow and old snow surface. The mid February weak layer of surface hoar or a crust/facet combo is buried 30-90 cm deep. There has been no reported activity on this layer recently, but watch for it to wake up with additional loading from snow and wind or rapid warming. Basal facets and/or depth hoar remain a concern in shallow snowpack areas in the northern part of the region.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.