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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 14th, 2024–Mar 15th, 2024

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

Regions

South Coast, Powell River, North Shore, Sasquatch, Sasquatch, Tetrahedron, Harrison-Fraser.

⚠️ Avoid all avalanche terrain ⚠️

Large natural avalanches are expected as heat continues to weaken the snowpack.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Observations are currently limited.

We expect continued natural avalanche activity with warming and strong sunshine.

Snowpack Summary

Expect to find moist or wet snow at most elevations except the highest north facing terrain features. 30-50 cm of storm snow from the past few days is expected to become moist and more reactive to human and natural triggers.

The mid and lower snowpack is well settled and dense, however buried crusts exist that may make for good sliding surfaces for avalanche activity as the warming affects deeper into the snowpack.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Mostly clear. 20-30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Freezing levels remain above 3000 m overnight.

Friday

Mostly sunny. 15 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +10 °C with freezing level climbing to 3500 m.

Saturday

Sunny. 40 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +14 °C with freezing level steady at 3500 m.

Sunday

Sunny. 20 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +15 °C with freezing level remaining at 3500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid all avalanche terrain during periods of intense solar radiation.
  • Cornices become weak with daytime heating or solar exposure.
  • Rocks will heat up with daytime warming and may become trigger points for loose wet avalanches

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.

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.