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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 27th, 2023–Dec 28th, 2023

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

Regions

Kitimat, Nass, Rupert, Shames.

Wind slabs are the main problem at upper elevations. Uncertainty remains around the reactivity of buried weak layers lingering in sheltered areas around treeline.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Tuesday, between Terrace and the coast, numerous naturally triggered storm slab and wet loose avalanches were reported at treeline and below.

On Monday, in the Shames backcountry, sounds of large avalanches in big terrain were reported. See this MIN post for more details of what sounded like a soggy day.

If you head into the backcountry please consider sharing your observations to the Mountain Information Network!

Snowpack Summary

Incremental snowfall continues to accumulate daily. At treeline and below, the upper snowpack is wet and/or crusty. At upper elevations, strong southwest to southeast winds have formed wind slabs in exposed leeward terrain, while scouring windward slopes.

Two buried layers of surface hoar are widespread in the mid snowpack, buried 50-100 cm, and 90-130 cm deep. The remaining mid and lower snowpack contains several well-bonded crusts. Snow depths are highly variable depending on elevation, and decrease rapidly below treeline.

Weather Summary

Wednesday night

Cloudy with flurries up to 5 cm. Moderate southeast wind. Freezing level 500 m, up to 1800 m near coastal inlets.

Thursday

Cloudy with snow flurries turning to rain below 1500 m; 5mm for most areas, 15mm west of Kitimat. Moderate to strong southeast wind. Treeline temperatures around 1 °C.

Friday

5-10 mm of rain below 1800 m. Strong southeast wind. Treeline temperatures around 3 °C.

Saturday

10-20 mm of rain below 1800 m. Moderate southerly wind. Treeline temperatures around 3 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Recent wind has varied in direction so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.
  • Approach lee and cross-loaded slopes with caution.
  • Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.
  • As surface loses cohesion due to melting, loose wet avalanches become common in steeper terrain.

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.

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.

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.