Avalanche forecast

Northwest Coastal

Jan 8 – 9, 2014Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 13 years ago

Avalanche danger

Fri
Sat
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    2–5
    A weak layer of buried facets near the ground continues to be a concern in the north of the region. Try to get local knowledge if you are traveling to new areas.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–3
    Moderate accumulations on Wednesday evening will add to a developing storm slab. Watch for increased reactivity in wind-affected terrain, or in areas where buried surface hoar exists.

Confidence

Fair - Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain on Friday

Weather Forecast

Thursday: Moderate snowfall overnight Wednesday should ease to light accumulations on Thursday / Strong Southwest winds / Freezing level at 600mFriday: Heavy snowfall starting Thursday night should continue through Friday / Strong to extreme southwest winds / Freezing level at 500mSaturday: Flurries / Moderate northwest winds / Freezing level at valley bottom

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches to report.

Snowpack Summary

In general the snowpack seems shallower and more faceted in the northern part of the region, and deeper with more wind slab problems in the south. At 1300m on an east aspect in the Shames area the height of snow is about 190cm. Light amounts of new snow now overlie a variety of old surfaces which include surface hoar in sheltered locations, and wind-affected snow at upper elevations. Depending on your location, you may find a facet/crust combo or surface hoar about 50cm below the surface. Reports suggest these layers are gaining strength; however, they may be worth keeping an eye on with forecast storm loading over the next few days. Deeper early December facetted crystals were also found to be rounding and gaining strength in this area.

Regions covered