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

Feb 28th, 2023–Mar 1st, 2023

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

Regions

Yukon, Tutshi, Wheaton, White Pass East, White Pass West.

Today's storm will bring significant amounts of snow and wind to our region.

Watch for building storm slabs and be careful as you transition into wind-affected terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Multiple natural wind slab avalanches up to size 2 have been reported today. Near Fraser on Monday, a skier was caught in a size 1.5 avalanche that they triggered on a wind slab.

If you head to the backcountry please help out your community by sharing your experiences and submitting a report to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

New snow today will be adding to the trace amounts that have been falling since our last system. This snow will be covering a snowpack that has been widely affected by recent northerly winds. Approximately 30 to 50 cm down a decomposing crust, up to 5 cm thick, can be found. It appears to be bonding well to layers above and below and is widespread up to 1300 m and isolated as high as 1700 m.

A weak layer of surface hoar and facets may be buried about 90 to 140 cm deep on north-to-east aspects. This layer may rest on a harder melt-freeze crust. Where preserved, this layer, if triggered, is capable of producing very large avalanches.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Increasing clouds, 5 cm accumulation, winds southwest 30 km/h, treeline temperatures hovering around -18 ºC.

Wednesday

Cloudy, 15 to 20 cm accumulation by midday and another 10 to 15 cm by evening, winds southerly 45 km/h gusting to 75, treeline temperatures around -12 ºC.

Thursday

Mostly cloudy, 2 to 5 cm accumulation, winds south 30 km/h, treeline temperatures -10 ºC.

Friday

Clouds, 3 cm accumulation, winds southeast 15 km/h, treeline temperatures -15 km/h.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for fresh storm slabs building throughout the day.
  • Avalanche hazard may have improved, but be mindful that deep instabilities are still present.
  • Be especially cautious as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Storm snow and wind is forming touchy slabs. Use caution in lee areas in the alpine and treeline.

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.