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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 23rd, 2022–Apr 24th, 2022

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

Regions

Lizard-Flathead.

With a sunny spring day, check for good overnight re-freeze and make sure to be off slopes before they turn mushy or wet.

Confidence

High - Uncertainty is due to the timing or intensity of solar radiation and its effect on the snowpack.

Weather Forecast

SATURDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy, 10 km/h west wind, alpine low temperature -6 C, freezing level falling to 1600 m.

SUNDAY: Sunny, 10 km/h southwest wind, alpine temperature high +8 C, overnight re-freeze and daytime freezing level rising to 2500 m.

MONDAY: Cloudy with sunny breaks, west wind gusting to 60 km/h, alpine high temperature +5 C, poor overnight re-freeze with freezing level hovering around 2200 m.

TUESDAY: Wet flurries, 10 cm. West wind gusting to 40 km/h, alpine high temperature +6 C, daytime freezing level rising above 2200 m.

Avalanche Summary

On Thursday, one report noted a rider-triggered avalanche in a steep, north-facing chute. The slab was 20 cm thick and reportedly ran a long distance. Otherwise a few small wet loose avalanches were observed.

Please consider posting your observations to the Mountain Information Network to supplement our data stream and help fellow recreationists.

Snowpack Summary

Sun and warm temperatures have moistened the snow on most surfaces to at least 2200m and higher on solar slopes. The snowpack has transitioned to spring-time conditions, with moist snow and crusts on most slopes, and isolated and lingering winter-ish conditions at the highest shaded elevations. Overall the snowpack is strong, consisting of hard snow and various melt-freeze crusts. At ridge top, remember that cornices are large and looming.

Keep in mind that any snowpack can quickly loose strength when heat penetrates to deeper layers for the first time. Check for good overnight recovery - avoid slopes that do not get an overnight re-freeze. 

Terrain and Travel

  • Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.
  • Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.
  • Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.

Problems

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.

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.