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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 8th, 2018–Apr 9th, 2018

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

Regions

Northwest Coastal.

Rising freezing levels and light rain are the main concerns for the next few days. Watch for moist or wet snow especially at treeline and below. Recent wind slabs may also become more sensitive to triggering with the warming trend.

Confidence

Moderate - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

TONIGHT: Cloudy, wet flurries. Precipitation 3-6 mm. Ridge wind moderate, southwest. Alpine temperature near 0. Freezing level 1500 m.MONDAY: Cloudy, wet flurries. Precipitation 4-8 mm. Ridge wind moderate to strong, southwest. Alpine temperature near 0. Freezing level 1400 m.TUESDAY: Cloudy, wet flurries. Precipitation 5-8 mm. Ridge wind strong to extreme, southeast. Alpine temperature near 0. Freezing level 1600 m.WEDNESDAY: Mostly cloudy, flurries. Accumulation 4-8 cm. Ridge wind strong, southeast. Alpine temperature near 0. Freezing level 1400 m.

Avalanche Summary

On Friday and Saturday the Shames area saw a widespread natural cycle up to size 3 on solar aspects as a result of Friday's storm. See recent MIN report. While further north only isolated wind slab and loose, wet activity was reported. Read MIN report.On Thursday northern parts of the region saw a widespread natural avalanche cycle triggered by strong to extreme wind loading event in the alpine. There was also a report of an icefall triggered size 2.5 slab avalanche that failed on the mid-March interface, northwest of Meziadin Lake.Wednesday a natural avalanche cycle up to size 1.5 was reported on wind affected features, as well as skier triggered storm snow releases up to size 1. A natural cornice failure that released a size 1.5 slab was also reported from an east aspect in the Shames area. Read MIN report here.

Snowpack Summary

Strong to extreme winds have created widespread wind affect in the alpine and at treeline. Warming followed by cooling has created a surface crust exists on all aspects up to 1500 m which will likely break down with daytime warming, becoming moist or wet by the afternoon.In the south of the region, two layers of surface hoar are buried approximately 70-100 cm deep. The layers are most prominent on north to east aspects and were buried early-March and mid-March. In the north of the region, these layers are around 40 cm deep.Bellow these March layers the mid-pack is generally well-settled and strong. However, shallower parts of the region, such as the far north, have weak sugary facets near the bottom of the snowpack.

Problems

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.

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.