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

Feb 20th, 2023–Feb 21st, 2023

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Chic-Choc Mountains, Littoral, Murdochville.

Sustained winds continue to form wind slabs.

Watch for signs of instability, such as propagating cracks or hollow sounds, and carefully assess your slope before committing to wind affected terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanche has been reported or observed in the Chic-Chocs in the last 24 hours.

Thanks for contributing to the collection of this valuable data by sharing with other users on the Mountain Information Network or by writing to us directly at [email protected].

Snowpack Summary

Above 600m, moderate to strong winds have redistributed the available snow and Monday's precipitations, exposing ice in open areas, and creating wind slabs of varied density on leeward aspects, cross loaded, and reverse loaded features. Below 600m, we suspect that the effects of yesterday's mild temperatures are limited. Buried down 5-10 cm, we still find a generalized crust though, created by last week's thaw, ranging from very thin, even imperceptible when skiing, to 3 cm thick, depending on the place. The whole thing rests on a well-consolidated mid-snowpack, with a constant increase in density. The January 18 crust is buried under sixty to one hundred centimetres of snow, and still has a layer of flat-faced grains above.

In general, the height of the snow pack varies from 70 to 90 cm down in the valley, to 100 to 150 cm at mid-elevations

Weather Summary

Forecast for the Chic-Chocs ridges and summits.

Synopsis: A cold front will sweep through on Monday night, bringing a brief period of heavy snowfall. Flurries easing off in the morning on Tuesday, followed by increasing sun and cold temperatures.

Monday night and overnight: Cloudy. 3-5 cm of snow. Winds from the northwest 40 km/h gusting to 90 km/h. Min. -15C. Freezing level at valley bottom.

Tuesday: Gradual clearing. No precipitation. Winds from the northwest from 30 to 50 km/h. Max. -10C.

Wednesday: Mostly cloudy. 1-2 cm of snow. Winds from 40 to 60 km/h from the west. Max. -20C

Thursday: Partly clear. No precipitation. Winds from 30 to 40 km/h from the northwest. Max. -24C.

For more details, see the Chic-Chocs alpine forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • In areas where deep persistent slabs may exist, avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks and unsupported terrain features.
  • Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.
  • Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.