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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 22nd, 2025–Mar 23rd, 2025

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

Regions

South Coast, Powell River, North Shore, Sasquatch, Sasquatch, Sky Pilot, Tetrahedron, Skagit.

During periods of high hazard, avoid all avalanche terrain.

We expect a large natural avalanche cycle with snow, extreme winds, and warming.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Looking ahead, we expect a large natural avalanche cycle to occur with snowfall and extreme winds, followed by warming.

On Thursday, skier traffic triggered several size 1 dry loose and storm slab avalanches. Reports also noted signs of instability like shooting cracks from skier traffic.

Thanks for sharing your observations to the MIN.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 20 cm of snow overnight and then another 20 to 30 cm accompanied by strong to extreme southwest winds will form touchy storm slabs, and deeper deposits on north- and east-facing slopes. This sits over 60 to 100 cm of previous storm snow.

A supportive crust is found 80 to 150 cm deep and the recent settling snow is bonding well to it. Below this, the snowpack is well-settled and strong.

See this North Shore SAR report for additional information.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Cloudy with up to 20 cm of snow. 30 to 50 km/h south ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Sunday

Cloudy with 20 to 30 cm of snow. 50 to 90 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -2 rising to 2 °C. Freezing levels rise to 2000 m by 4 pm.

Monday

In the overnight period, 30 to 60 mm is expected, falling as snow above 1500 m.

Then, cloudy with another 40 to 60 mm, falling as snow above 1500 m. 60 to 90 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature 4 °C.

Tuesday

Cloudy with up to 20 mm, falling as snow above 2000 m. 30 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 6 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid avalanche terrain during periods of heavy loading from new snow, wind, or rain.
  • Only the most simple non-avalanche terrain with no overhead hazard is appropriate at this time.
  • Use extra caution for areas that are experiencing rapidly warming temperatures for the first time.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.