Avalanche Forecast

Issued: Dec 18th, 2015 8:11AM

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

Avalanche Canada triley, Avalanche Canada

Incremental loading above buried weak layers is trending the avalanche danger up over the weekend.

Summary

Confidence

Moderate - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain on Sunday

Weather Forecast

Snow on Friday should become flurries overnight resulting in a couple of more cm by Saturday morning combined with moderate westerly winds. Flurries during the day Saturday becoming snow overnight with strong westerly winds. Expect another 10-15 cm by Sunday morning, and snow continuing during the day with moderate southwest winds. Flurries or light snow and moderate southwest winds for Monday. Freezing level at or below 500 metres for the entire forecast period.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches reported. Suspect widespread thin soft slabs were easy to trigger today due tot the dry snow and moderate winds.

Snowpack Summary

There was 15-20 cm of new snow on Friday morning available to be transported into windslabs by moderate southerly winds. These new storm and wind slabs may be sitting on a new layer of surface hoar that was buried on Thursday. The new storm snow is above 40-50 cm of snow from last week, that may also be sitting on a buried surface hoar layer.  There is about 100 cm of settled snow above the December 8th melt-freeze crust.  There is about 200 cm at 1800 metres in the Coquihalla.

Problems

Storm Slabs

An icon showing Storm Slabs
New soft slabs may be easy to trigger or release naturally. Storm slabs may increase in size as the slab consolidates and may be sitting on a sliding layer of buried surface hoar.
Avoid travelling in areas that have been reverse loaded by winds.>Avoid avalanche terrain during periods of heavy loading from new snow and wind.>

Aspects: All aspects.

Elevations: All elevations.

Likelihood

Likely

Expected Size

1 - 3

Valid until: Dec 19th, 2015 2:00PM