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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 8th, 2018–Dec 9th, 2018

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.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Cariboos.

Watch for the formation of wind slabs in the alpine Sunday as a strong southwest wind moves into the region.

Confidence

Low - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

A storm impacts the coast Sunday which should start to erode the ridge of high pressure that has been plaguing the province for the last week. A bit of snow may venture into the region Sunday with potential for another wee storm Tuesday night into Wednesday. SATURDAY NIGHT: Freezing level at valley bottom, moderate southwest wind in the alpine, no significant precipitation expected.SUNDAY: Clear skies in the morning with steadily increasing cloud through the day, freezing level at valley bottom, strong southwest wind in the alpine, trace of precipitation possible during the day, potential for 1 to 5 cm of snow Sunday night.MONDAY: Broken cloud cover, freezing level at valley bottom, light to moderate southwest wind, trace of precipitation possible.TUESDAY: Overcast, freezing level starting near valley bottom rising to 1500 m during the day, strong to extreme southwest wind, 1 to 5 cm of snow possible during the day, potential for 4 to 10 cm of snow Tuesday night.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported.

Snowpack Summary

The VARDA gang produced a great video from the Allan Creek zone near Valemount, check it out here. The snowpack is currently quite stable in most places, however a buried weak layer still exists down 20-60 cm. This layer consists of a sun crust on steep south facing slopes, and/or surface hoar (feathery crystals). The surface hoar is most prominent at treeline. The most likely place to trigger this layer is where the surface hoar is sitting on the crust. This combination is most likely found on steep south facing terrain at treeline.At the base of the snowpack is a crust that formed in late October. The probability of triggering this layer is low, but the most likely areas would be large, steep, rocky alpine features with a shallow snowpack. It would likely take a large trigger such as a cornice fall to produce an avalanche on this layer.Snowpack depths decrease dramatically with elevation.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.