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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 23rd, 2020–Jan 24th, 2020

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

Regions

Cariboos.

Another storm pulse should keep storm slab problems active on Friday. Expect avalanche danger to increase over the day as new snow accumulates. The greatest accumulations are expected in the south of the region.

Confidence

Moderate - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain.

Weather Forecast

Thursday night: Cloudy with continuing scattered flurries bringing 5-10 cm of new snow. Moderate southwest winds.

Friday: Cloudy with continuing scattered flurries bringing another 5-10 cm of new snow. Light to moderate southwest winds. Alpine high temperatures around -2 with freezing levels remaining near 1500 metres.

Saturday: Cloudy with a chance of isolated flurries. Light to moderate south winds. Alpine high temperatures around -4 with freezing levels to 1300 metres.

Sunday: Broken skies, becoming cloudy with isolated flurries and a trace of new snow. Moderate southeast winds. Alpine high temperatures around -5.

Avalanche Summary

There have been no new avalanches reported for several days. 

On Thursday, up to 15 cm of new snow, paired with warm temperatures and strong southerly winds, likely led to touchy storm slabs forming in many areas. Similar conditions are expected for Friday.

Snowpack Summary

Regular snowfall over the past week brought 20-40 cm of snow to the region. Elevated winds and warm temperatures on Thursday mean that touchy new storm slabs were likely forming at higher elevations while melting of surface snow occurred below about 1600 metres. A similar picture is expected for Friday.

There is a layer of surface hoar buried 60 to 120 cm deep. This layer exists primarily at treeline and below. It appears to be gaining strength, though test results indicate that there is still the potential to trigger it in isolated areas. Check out this MIN report from a few days ago outlining some recent test results on this layer.

Terrain and Travel

  • Storm slab size and sensitivity to triggering will likely increase through the day.
  • Avoid freshly wind loaded terrain features.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.