Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Mar 18th, 2022 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs.
zryan,
Avalanche Canada
Reactive wind slabs may exist at upper elevations and continue to form throughout the day.
Be cautious as you transition into wind-affected terrain and avoid freshly wind-loaded areas.
Summary
Confidence
Weather Forecast
Active weather continues, with a series of frontal systems moving inland bringing light amounts of new snow.
FRIDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with light snowfall, trace accumulation. Moderate to strong southwesterly winds. Freezing level 1200 m.
SATURDAY: Snowing, trace to 5 cm of accumulation. Moderate to strong southwesterly winds. Freezing level rising to 2000 m, dropping to 1000 m overnight.
SUNDAY: Snowing, trace to 5 cm of accumulation. Moderate to strong westerly winds easing in the afternoon. Freezing level rising to 1500 m, dropping to 500 m overnight.
MONDAY: Cloudy with light flurries. Moderate southwesterly winds. Freezing level rising to 1500 m.
Avalanche Summary
A few large wind slab avalanches occurred in alpine terrain on Tuesday (size 2 to 3), otherwise, avalanche activity since last weekend has been limited to small wind slab and dry loose avalanches (size 1).
Snowpack Summary
Strong southwest wind has impacted surface snow conditions at upper elevations, while the surface is moist and crusty below 1800 m. The AvCan field team describes these variable surface conditions at York on Wednesday. The upper snowpack contains several crust layers, and the snow is well bonded to these crusts.
Terrain and Travel
- Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
- Use ridges or ribs to avoid areas of wind loaded snow.
- Be alert to conditions that change with aspect and elevation.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Expect to find freshly wind-loaded features that may be reactive to human triggers as snowfall and southwest winds create wind slabs in lee features in the alpine and treeline.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, North West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Mar 19th, 2022 4:00PM
