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 2nd, 2021–Jan 3rd, 2021

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

Regions

South Coast.

New snow and wind will continue to build fresh and reactive storm slabs. Choose simple terrain and avoid overhead hazard.

Confidence

Moderate - Uncertainty is due to difficult to forecast freezing levels.

Weather Forecast

Saturday night: Wet snow, 15-20 cm, strong southwest wind easing to moderate northwest, freezing level dropping 1400 m to 800 m.

Sunday: Snow 15-25 cm, moderate to strong southwest wind, alpine high temperature -5, freezing level 800 to 1000 m.

Monday: Snow, 15-20 cm, light southwest wind, alpine high temperature -1, freezing level 1200 m.

Tuesday: Flurries, southwest wind increasing to strong, alpine high temperature -4, freezing level 1000 m.

Avalanche Summary

Slab avalanche activity is expected at upper elevations where the precipitation is falling as snow.  

Wet loose avalanches may occur at lower elevations where the snow has been soaked by rain.

Natural (size 1) and explosive triggered (size 2) were reported in the North Shore mountains on Thursday and Friday during the storm.

There were numerous avalanches up to size 1.5 reported in the North Shore mountains during the storm on Wednesday. It is likely that a widespread natural avalanche cycle occurred throughout the region on Wednesday as well, especially at higher elevations.

Snowpack Summary

30-50 mm of precipitation is forecast to fall Saturday night and over the day Sunday. The snow line may rise as precipitation eases slightly Saturday evening, before dropping down below 800 m as a cold front comes through overnight.

This will bring recent snow amounts at upper elevations to as much as 200-300 cm. The new snow sits on a crust in many areas, and may also sit on surface hoar in some places. At lower elevations, the snowpack will be rain-soaked.

The remainder of the snowpack is well-settled.

Watch North Shore Rescue's snowpack conditions update from Friday here.

Terrain and Travel

  • Watch for fresh storm slabs building throughout the day.
  • Use conservative route selection. Choose simple, low-angle, well-supported terrain with no overhead hazard.

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.