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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 5th, 2025–Mar 6th, 2025

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Vancouver Island, East Island, North Island, South Island, West Island.

Keep an eye on the effects of warming and solar input throughout the day

Avalanche activity will likely increase when the snow surface feels moist

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported in the past 3 days at the time of publishing. We suspect that human triggered avalanches could have occurred during the day on Wednesday.

Snowpack Summary

5 to 20 cm of new, dense  snow has fallen over a widespread surface crust in the past couple days. Beneath, the upper snowpack is moist.

The snow surface will likely become moist during the day on all aspects and elevations except for high north facing slopes.

Where still intact, a crust buried in January may be found 100 to 150 cm deep. Below this, the snowpack is well-bonded and stable. At lower elevations, snow coverage is thin.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy. 10 to 20 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C, potential for inversion with colder temperatures at lower elevations.

Thursday

Mostly sunny. 15 to 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level rising to 1700 m.

Friday

Increasing cloud throughout the day with up to 20 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C.

Saturday

Cloudy with 10 to 60 mm of mixed precipitation. 30 to 50 km/h south ridgetop wind. Freezing level around 1600 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be careful as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Use ridges or ribs to avoid areas of wind-loaded snow.
  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and sun exposure.
  • Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.

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.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.