Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 9th, 2022–Dec 10th, 2022

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

Regions

South Coast, Garibaldi, North Shore, Sasquatch, Sasquatch, Sky Pilot, Tetrahedron.

The snowpack will potentially be overloaded during times of intense precipitation and strong wind. Unless you have professional level training and experience avoid avalanche terrain near treeline or higher elevations, especially in the North Shore Mountains where the heaviest snowfall is expected.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches reported.

Keep sharing your observations via the MIN; it helps strengthen our information gathering.

Snowpack Summary

Upper snowpack: 20 to 40 cm of recent snow. Below this is a layer of surface hoar in shady sheltered areas.Mid-pack: softer, weaker layers of less cohesive snow around 80 - 100 cm down should be gaining strength as they squish. Lower-pack: a thick melt-freeze crust and increasing strength.

At 1000 m the snowpack depth is around 130 cm. Lower treeline and below treeline elevations are still below the threshold for avalanches.

Weather Summary

Friday NightStorm arrives overnight with strong southerly wind. Around 20 to 30 mm of water equivalent or 20 cm of snow. Snow level down near the city (but less of it) and temperatures a few degrees below freezing near ridge crests and peaks.

SaturdayStormy day with strong southerly wind and another 20mm of water equivalent or 15 to 20 cm of snow up high. Temperatures warming with minus a few degrees near the peaks, zero around 1000m, and snow level rising to around 500m.

Sunday

Storm ended by morning with around 10 mm / 5 - 10 cm overnight. Wind light from the northwest. Continued warm with freezing level around 1000m. Mostly cloudy

Monday

Clear. Dry. Light north wind. Colder with below zero temps above around 400m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid all avalanche terrain during periods of heavy snowfall.
  • Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where even small avalanches may have severe consequences.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.

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.