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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 12th, 2021–Jan 13th, 2021

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

Regions

Cariboos.

Snow and strong wind Tuesday evening into Wednesday will likely form fresh storm and wind slabs at upper elevations. There is uncertainty with forecast snowfall amounts. If local snow amounts overnight are greater than 25 cm then avalanche danger will be High.

Confidence

Moderate - Uncertainty is due to the track & intensity of the incoming weather system.

Weather Forecast

Tuesday Night: Snow, 10-20 cm, strong southwest wind, alpine high -4, freezing level 1400 m.

Wednesday: Flurries, 5-10 cm, moderate to strong southwest wind, alpine high -5, freezing level 1300 m.

Thursday: Cloudy with sunny breaks, light to moderate northwest wind, alpine high -8, freezing level 600 m.

Friday: Isolated flurries, moderate to strong southwest wind, alpine high -7, freezing level 600 m.

Avalanche Summary

Expect to see an increase in storm and wind slab avalanche activity on Tuesday in the after math of new snow accumulating with strong southwest winds.

Field observations in this region are limited. If you get out, please consider submitting your observations to the Mountain Information Network. 

Snowpack Summary

New snow accumulating Monday through Tuesday night has fallen on wind affected surfaces at upper elevations, surface hoar in wind sheltered areas and a thin crust on solar aspects. Winds are likely redistributing new snow into wind slabs and growing cornices.

A couple of persistent weak layers exist in the upper to mid snowpack, down 20-60 cm and 70-100 cm. The distribution of these layers are variable, the upper layer spotty at treeline and below and the lower layer can present as surface hoar and/or a crust. It has been reported as most prevalent in areas near Valemount. Avalanche activity on these layers have dwindled since the storm and snowpack tests results have been moderate to hard planar, but still showing some propagation.

Terrain and Travel

  • Watch for signs of slab formation throughout the day.
  • Expect slab conditions to change drastically as you move into wind exposed terrain.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Wind slabs are most reactive during their formation.
  • Dial back your terrain choices if you are seeing more than 20 cm of new snow.

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.

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.