Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Babine, East Stikine, Howson, Hudson Bay, Kispiox, Microwave-Sinclair, Ningunsaw, North Bulkley, Northwest Inland, South Bulkley, Telkwa, West Stikine.
Uncertainty surrounding buried weak layers, combined with a weak and moisture-laden snowpack, warrants a conservative approach.
Confidence
Low
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been observed, but reports have been extremely limited. We suspect a large natural avalanche cycle to have run during the peak of the rain storm.
If you head to the backcountry please consider submitting your observations to the Mountain Information Network.
Snowpack Summary
Rain and warm temperatures have created a moist snow surface at all elevations except in the high alpine. Strong winds will have created heavily wind-affected surfaces and stiff wind slabs where dry snow remains.
We'll need to reassess whether two surface hoar layers in the mid-snowpack have survived or been cleaned out by the rain.
Deeper in the snowpack, a rain crust from early November seems to be bonding well to the surrounding snow.
Weather Summary
Wednesday Night
Cloudy with up to 3 mm of precipitation. 15 to 40 km/h southest ridge top wind. Freezing level 2500 m.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy with up to 2mm of precipitation. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level 1500 m.
Friday
Cloudy with 4 to 10 mm of precipitation. 40 to 80 km/h southwest ridge top wind. Freezing level 1500 m.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy with up to 2 cm of snow. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridge top wind. Freezing level 1000 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Be alert to conditions that change with aspect and elevation.
- Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried surface hoar.
- Keep in mind that the high density of wet avalanches can make them destructive.
- Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
In the alpine where dry snow remains, strong winds may form stiff wind slabs.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, West, North West.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Possible - Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 2
Wet Slabs
A weak, rain-moistened upper snowpack may still produce natural and human-triggered wet slab avalanches. These avalanches could be surprisingly large due to buried surface hoar layers.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2.5