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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 15th, 2024–Mar 16th, 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 ⚠️

Natural avalanches are expected as heat continues to weaken the snowpack.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Wet avalanche activity was observed on Thursday as solar and warming began to impact the snowpack. We expect avalanches to increase in size as temperatures remain high over the weekend.

Continued widespread wet avalanches and cornice failures are expected as warming persists.

Snowpack Summary

Expect to find moist or wet snow at most elevations. Up to 50 cm of storm snow from the past few days is rapidly settling, and likely reactive as wet avalanches to human and natural triggers.

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

Weather Summary

Friday Night

Clear skies. 30 km/h east ridgetop wind. Freezing level remains above 3500 m.

Saturday

Sunny. 30 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +14 °C with freezing level steady at 3500 m.

Sunday

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

Monday

Sunny. 10 km/h southwestridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +12 °C with freezing level above 3000 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Cornices become weak with daytime heating or solar exposure.
  • Avoid areas with overhead hazard, especially solar aspects.
  • 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.