Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Jan 13th, 2021 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Storm Slabs and Persistent Slabs.
kdevine,
Avalanche Canada
Storm slabs are expected to continue to be reactive with ongoing flurries and strong to extreme southwest winds. Look for low-angle slopes in wind sheltered terrain for the best, and safest riding conditions.
Summary
Confidence
Weather Forecast
WEDNESDAY NIGHT - Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries / southwest wind, 20-30 km/h / alpine low temperature near -8
THURSDAY - Flurries, 5-10 cm / southwest wind, 60-80 km/h gusting to 100 km/h / alpine high temperature near -3 / freezing level 1000 m
FRIDAY - Snow, 10-20 cm / southwest wind, 50-70 km/h / alpine high temperature near -2 / freezing level 1000 m
SATURDAY - Flurries, 10-15 cm / south wind, 30-60 km/h / alpine high temperature near -3 / freezing level 800 m
Avalanche Summary
With continued snow and moderate southwest wind, avalanches will likely remain easy to trigger on Thursday, especially in wind loaded areas.
There was a natural avalanche cycle reported on Tuesday, as well as numerous explosives triggered avalanches up to size 2.5 and a few human triggered size 1 avalanches.
On Monday, there were reports of widespread natural and explosives triggered avalanches up to size 3. The largest avalanches were reported in the north of the region where there has been more recent snow. The avalanches being reported closer to Terrace were generally in the size 1-2 range.
There were a few natural and explosives triggered storm slab avalanches size 1-2.5 reported in the region on Sunday.
Snowpack Summary
5-10 cm in the forecast for Thursday will bring recent storm snow totals to between 50-80 cm.
In the Shames area, a weak layer of surface hoar has been reported in sheltered areas down around 100-160 cm.
A bit further north in the Nass/Sterling/Beaupre areas, there is potentially still concern about an older weak layer overlying a crust that is now roughly 160-180 cm deep.
In the far north of the region, there is concern about weak snow at the bottom of the snowpack.
Terrain and Travel
- Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
- Avoid freshly wind loaded terrain features.
- Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm slabs are expected to be widespread and are likely still easy to trigger, especially in wind loaded areas.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
There are a few different persistent weak layers being reported throughout the region. They are all generally buried between 100-200 cm and tend to consist of either surface hoar or crusts with faceted snow sitting on them.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Jan 14th, 2021 4:00PM
