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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 22nd, 2020–Jan 23rd, 2020

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

Regions

Northwest Inland.

Only light amounts of new snow are expected, but strong winds are likely to set up fresh wind slabs in exposed areas.

Confidence

Moderate - Uncertainty is due to the extreme variability of wind effect on the snowpack.

Weather Forecast

Wednesday night: Around 5 cm new snow. Strong southwesterly winds. Freezing level around 600 m.

Thursday: 5-10 cm new snow. Moderate southwesterly winds. Freezing level rising to around 1200 m.

Friday: 5-10 cm new snow. Strong southwesterly winds. Freezing level around 1000 m.

Saturday: Around 5 cm new snow. Strong southwesterly winds. Freezing level around 1000 m.

Avalanche Summary

Wind slab avalanches, skier triggered size 1.5 and natural size 2.5 were observed in the Howson ranges Monday.

Over the weekend, a natural storm cycle was observed at treeline and below. Slabs were soft and thin but propagated widely resulting in avalanches up to size 2. They ran on the faceted interface buried January 17th.

There have been reports trickling in over the past month of natural persistent slab avalanches up to size 3 in the Bulkley Valley. These are thought to have been failing on the November crust/facet layer near the ground. The last reported activity at this interface was Monday January 13th.

Snowpack Summary

Southerly winds have formed fresh wind slabs from 10-20 cm (up to 50 cm in the Howson area) of recent snow in places that were previously scoured by northeasterly arctic outflows. In wind sheltered areas at treeline and below, the recent snow sits on a layer of touchy facets.

A layer of surface hoar now buried up to 1 m below the surface may also be found at treeline. A deep crust/facet layer lurks at the base of the snowpack. A couple of large avalanches are suspected to have run on this interface in the last few weeks. These larger avalanches have been specific to lee and cross-loaded features in the alpine.Total snow depths of 30-40 cm have been reported at alpine elevations in the Smithers area, with depths diminishing rapidly with elevation below 1500 metres. For most areas where snow cover exists, the snowpack is capped by a supportive melt-freeze crust. Above 1800 metres a light cover of windblown snow is reported to have formed thin wind slabs in lee areas. 

Terrain and Travel

  • Recent wind has varied in direction so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.
  • Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.
  • Small avalanches can have serious consequences in extreme terrain. Carefully evaluate your line for wind slab hazard before you commit to it.

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.