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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 13th, 2021–Apr 14th, 2021

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

Regions

Lizard-Flathead.

Plan your day around avoiding sun exposed slopes and lingering wind slabs.

Danger will progressively increase as the days get warmer and sunnier. Read more in this Forecasters' Blog.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

TUESDAY NIGHT: Clear skies, 40 km/h northeast wind, freezing level drop to valley bottom with treeline temperatures dropping to -5 C.

WEDNESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, 40 km/h northeast wind, freezing level to 1800 m with treeline temperatures around -1 C.

THURSDAY: Sunny with a few clouds, light northeast wind, freezing level climbing to 2200 m with treeline temperatures reaching +3 C.

FRIDAY: Sunny, light northeast wind, freezing level climbing to 2600 m with treeline temperatures reaching +6 C.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported since the weekend. On Sunday a few size 1-1.5 human triggered slab avalanches were reported, including a storm slab on a north-facing convexity at treeline near Corbin and a 30 cm thick natural slab avalanche on a steep east-facing slope in the Lizard Range.

Snowpack Summary

North alpine terrain has roughly 30 cm of settling powder with wind slabs possible on steep exposed slopes. Other terrain is undergoing a melt-freeze cycle with successive days of warm sunny weather. The snowpack is overall strong and settled, although intense warming later this week could potentially weaken deeper layers in shallow rocky terrain. The snow line is slowly creeping up the mountains to roughly 1400 m in elevation. 

Terrain and Travel

  • Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.
  • Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.
  • Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.

Problems

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.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.

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.