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

Apr 6th, 2025–Apr 7th, 2025

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

Regions

Cariboos, Blue River, Clearwater, McBride, Premier, Quesnel, Clemina, Renshaw, Robson.

Continued warm temps may cause cornices to fail and initiate wet loose avalanches.

Expect these larger triggers to increase the likelihood of releasing the persistent slab.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Saturday, 2 small (size 1) wind slab avalanches where reported near blue river, with one being remotely triggered from a ridge line.

In the past week, there have been several recent cornice falls triggering very large persistent slabs in this region.

NOTE: Observations in this region are currently very limited.

Snowpack Summary

On the surface, up to 30 cm of recent snow exists on northerly aspects in the alpine and due to warm temperatures and elevated freezing levels is settling and becoming moist. Solar aspects continue to hold a melt freeze crust and at lower elevations on all aspects will present as moist snow.

Below this, a 5 to 25 cm variable strength crust from the late March rain event is present. This is capping a moist upper snowpack.

The primary weak layer of concern is a surface hoar, facet, and crust layer from early March, buried 60 to 120 cm deep.

The lower snowpack is generally well-settled and strong in most areas.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Cloudy with light snow showers and rain 1 to 5 cm. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +5 °C. Freezing level 2500 m.

Monday

Mostly cloudy with snow and rain 5 to 10 cm. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +2 °C. Freezing level 1800 m.

Tuesday

Cloudy with light snow showers and rain 1 to 2 cm. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +1 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

Wednesday

Mix of sun and cloud. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +1 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Cornice failures could trigger large and destructive avalanches.
  • The more the snowpack warms up and weakens, the more conservative your terrain selection should be.
  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind-affected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

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.

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.