Avalanche Forecast

Issued: Dec 30th, 2018 5:06PM

The alpine rating is considerable, the treeline rating is moderate, and the below treeline rating is moderate. Known problems include Wind Slabs.

jfloyer, Avalanche Canada

Northwest Inland.

A brief lull between storms should make for some good riding. Pay attention to areas of wind-affected snow.

Summary

Confidence

Moderate - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

SUNDAY NIGHT: Dry with clear periods.MONDAY: Clouding over with light snow starting in the afternoon, 2-4 cm. Winds increasing to moderate southwesterly. Treeline temperatureas around -10C.TUESDAY: 5-10 cm new snow. Moderate southwesterly winds. Treeline temperatures around -4C.WEDNESDAY: 10-15 cm new snow. Strong southwesterly winds. Freezing level rising to around 1500 m.

Avalanche Summary

I'd be very surprised if there was no avalanche activity in response to Saturday's storm.We often have a hard time getting reports of avalanche activity from this region, so if you see anything, please post your observations to the Mountain Information Network! (MIN). Thanks!

Snowpack Summary

The most recent storm deposited 30-40 cm new snow with strong winds from the west. Buried under the snow in sheltered areas, you may find one or two weak layers comprising surface hoar (feathery crystals) and/or facets (sugary snow). The upper one may have been buried around December 22 and is likely buried 30-50 cm below the surface. The lower one was buried in early December and is now approximately 80-120 cm below the surface. Deeper in the snowpack, there are several crusts including an early season crust with facets near the bottom of the snowpack.Three different parties have reported recent whumpfing in the Telkwa and Hankin areas, possibly on the facets near the base of the snowpack, or on one of the other weak layers. This indicates the snowpack should not be completely trusted at this time.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Recent snowfall has set up storm and wind slabs in steep terrain, particularly where wind has redistributed the snow.

Watch for signs of instability such as whumpfing, or cracking. Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.Be aware of the potential for wide propagations due to the presence of hard windslabs.

Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, West, North West.

Elevations: All elevations.

Likelihood

Likely

Expected Size

1 - 2

Valid until: Dec 31st, 2018 2:00PM