Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Feb 28th, 2023 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs and Persistent Slabs.
rgoddard,
Avalanche Canada
Today's storm will bring significant amounts of snow and wind to our region.
Watch for building storm slabs and be careful as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
Summary
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
Multiple natural wind slab avalanches up to size 2 have been reported today. Near Fraser on Monday, a skier was caught in a size 1.5 avalanche that they triggered on a wind slab.
If you head to the backcountry please help out your community by sharing your experiences and submitting a report to the Mountain Information Network.
Snowpack Summary
New snow today will be adding to the trace amounts that have been falling since our last system. This snow will be covering a snowpack that has been widely affected by recent northerly winds. Approximately 30 to 50 cm down a decomposing crust, up to 5 cm thick, can be found. It appears to be bonding well to layers above and below and is widespread up to 1300 m and isolated as high as 1700 m.
A weak layer of surface hoar and facets may be buried about 90 to 140 cm deep on north-to-east aspects. This layer may rest on a harder melt-freeze crust. Where preserved, this layer, if triggered, is capable of producing very large avalanches.
Weather Summary
Tuesday Night
Increasing clouds, 5 cm accumulation, winds southwest 30 km/h, treeline temperatures hovering around -18 ºC.
Wednesday
Cloudy, 15 to 20 cm accumulation by midday and another 10 to 15 cm by evening, winds southerly 45 km/h gusting to 75, treeline temperatures around -12 ºC.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy, 2 to 5 cm accumulation, winds south 30 km/h, treeline temperatures -10 ºC.
Friday
Clouds, 3 cm accumulation, winds southeast 15 km/h, treeline temperatures -15 km/h.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Watch for fresh storm slabs building throughout the day.
- Avalanche hazard may have improved, but be mindful that deep instabilities are still present.
- Be especially cautious as you transition into wind affected terrain.
- Storm snow and wind is forming touchy slabs. Use caution in lee areas in the alpine and treeline.
Problems
Wind Slabs
By the end of the day Wednesday, much of our region will see significant snowfall.
Strong southerly winds will accompany this snow so expect to find deep and consolidated pockets in the lee of features.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South, West, North West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
We continue to see the occasional avalanche on a weak layer of surface hoar and facets buried about 100 cm deep. Resulting in large avalanches that have a wide propagation. Some of these avalanches were remotely triggered from hundreds of metres away. The common trend is that they are on north-to-east aspects, around 1500 to 1700 m in elevation.
Aspects: North, North East, East, North West.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Mar 1st, 2023 4:00PM
