Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 14th, 2022–Dec 15th, 2022

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.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Northwest Coastal, Kitimat, Nass, Rupert, Seven Sisters, Shames, Stewart, Howson, Ningunsaw.

With these north winds, be aware of the potential for reverse loading and encountering Wind Slabs in places you might not expect them.

Be especially cautious around treeline elevations where the recent snow is more likely to sit on top of a weak layer of preserved surface hoar.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Two small wind slab avalanches were reported from the region in the last 48hrs.

If you head out in the backcountry please support your community by submitting a MIN report!

Snowpack Summary

20 to 50cm of recent snow overlies a layer of surface hoar (buried in early December), sized 5-10 mm. With north winds continuing, Wind Slabs will form on south through southeast aspects and cross-loaded features.

A layer that was buried in mid-November can be found 80 to 120cm deep at treeline and above. This layer consists of a crust below 1200m and a layer of surface hoar above this elevation. This layer has not shown any recent signs of instability.

In the alpine snowpack depths over 2 meters have been reported but the snowpack below treeline is still generally quite shallow.

Weather Summary

Wednesday night

Partly cloudy. Trace amounts of new snow. Winds from the northwest at 30km/h. Temperature at -5˚C.

Thursday

Partly cloudy. No new snow. Winds from the northwest at 40km/h. Alpine temperatures up to +2˚C.

Friday

Partly cloudy. Flurries beginning late in the day. Winds from the northwest at 40km/h decreasing late in the day. Temperature -5˚C dropping to -10˚C late in the day.

Saturday

Cloudy. Snow beginning overnight Friday with accumulations up to 10cm through Saturday. Winds from the southwest at 20km/h. Temperature -8˚C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.
  • Watch for areas of hard wind slab on alpine features.
  • Back off if you encounter whumpfing, hollow sounds, or shooting cracks.
  • Early season avalanches at any elevation have the potential to be particularly dangerous due to obstacles that are exposed or just below the surface.

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.