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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 14th, 2024–Mar 15th, 2024

Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Regions

Cariboos, Blue River, McBride, Premier, Quesnel, Clemina, North Monashee, Renshaw, Robson.

Avoid avalanche terrain. Solar input and rapidly rising freezing levels will likely result in a widespread natural avalanche cycle.

Check out our latest blog about the forecasted warming.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Yet again, Wednesday showed a widespread natural avalanche cycle up to size 3 and explosive controlled avalanches up to size 3. Most of the avalanches were seen on north-facing aspects from 2100 to 2600 m.

We expect to see a widespread natural avalanche cycle over the next few days. Avoid avalanche terrain and exposure from overhead hazards (open slopes, cornices) as avalanches could run full path.

Snowpack Summary

Moist snow surfaces will extend into the alpine (except for high north-facing slopes) with rising freezing levels, especially on sun-exposed slopes.

Recent storm snow totals near 40 to 80 cm across the region. The new snow sits on sun crusts and wind-affected snow from previous strong southwest winds.

Two layers of surface hoar and sun crust can be found in the top meter of the snowpack. One from late February and the other from early March.

A thick and hard widespread crust that formed in early February is buried about 70 to 130 cm deep. This crust has a layer of facets above it in many areas.

The snowpack below this crust is generally not concerning except in shallow alpine terrain.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Cloudy with some clear periods. 10 to 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Alpine temperatures near -2°C. Freezing levels at valley bottom.

Friday

Mix of sun and cloud. 10 to 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Alpine temperatures are a high of +2°C. Freezing level rising to 1800 m.

Saturday

Sunny. Mostly light winds but in places gusty to 40 km/h from the northwest at ridgetop. Alpine temperatures high near +5°C. Freezing level rising to 3000 m.

Sunday

Sunny. 15 km/h west ridgetop wind. Alpine temperatures low of +1°C and a high of +6°C. Freezing level rising 3000 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid exposure to overhead avalanche terrain, avalanches may run surprisingly far.
  • Brief periods of sun could quickly initiate natural avalanche activity.
  • Cornices become weak with daytime heating or solar exposure.
  • Only the most simple non-avalanche terrain free of overhead hazard is appropriate at this time.

Problems

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.

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.

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.