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

Jan 30th, 2022–Jan 31st, 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, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Northwest Inland.

Avoid terrain traps and other features that could make being caught in a small avalanche more consequential. Wind slabs will likely be limited in size but sensitive to rider traffic.

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

Sunday night: no new snow expected. Light to moderate winds from the northwest with a low of -10 at 1600m.

Monday: some light flurries in the afternoon with moderate northwest winds. High of -6 at 1600m.

Tuesday: light flurries throughout the day. Moderate southeast winds with a high of -14 at 1600m.

Wednesday: up to 5cm of new snow with moderate south winds. High of -12 at 1600m.

Avalanche Summary

One skier triggered size 1 storm slab was reported on Saturday. This avalanche was on a east aspect at 1500m.

Snowpack Summary

Thin wind slab has formed over a variety of surfaces including facets, surface hoar and old wind slab. The new snow will likely not bond well to these surfaces. In the southern part of the region it is possible to find a rain crust up to 1500m.

Below this we have two persistent weak layers, the first is a surface hoar layer from mid January buried down approximately 30cm. The second is a layer of facets from early January which is now down 50 to 80cm, it has been most reactive where wind slab has formed above it and will now likely require a large load to trigger.

Terrain and Travel

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Avoid terrain traps where the consequence of any avalanche could be serious.

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.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.