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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 24th, 2023–Dec 25th, 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 unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Northwest Inland, Kispiox, Microwave-Sinclair, North Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, Telkwa.

New snow and strong winds will build fresh wind slabs throughout the day. Use caution in lee features where human-triggering wind slabs is possible.

Happy holidays, enjoy the fresh snow!

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No recent avalanches have been reported in the region. We expect those who head into the backcountry will see evidence of a natural avalanche cycle in wind-loaded alpine features from strong overnight winds.

If you head into the backcountry please consider submitting your observations to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

Storm snow will accumulate throughout the day. This overlies 10-20 cm of settling snow in sheltered areas and wind-affected surfaces at higher elevations. At lower elevations new snow overlies a surface crust.

Two different surface hoar layers have been reported in the upper snowpack (up to 40 cm deep) and appear to be most prominent at treeline and below. Snowpack depths at treeline are 50 to 100 cm.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries, bringing a trace snow. Southwesterly winds, 30 to 50 km/h. Treeline temperatures near -7 °C.

Monday

Cloudy with scattered flurries, 3 to 8 cm of snow. Southerly winds, 50 to 80 km/h. Freezing levels remain at valley bottom, treeline temperatures around -4 °C.

Flurries continue overnight bringing another 5-8 cm of snow.

Tuesday

Partly cloudy with isolated flurries, bringing a trace of snow. Southwest winds, 50 to 70 km/h. Freezing levels rise to 1000 m with treeline temperatures around -1 °C.

Wednesday

Cloudy with scattered flurries, 3 to 8 cm of snow. Southeast winds, 50 to 60 km/h. Freezing level is around 700 m with treeline temperatures around -3 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Fresh wind slabs will likely form throughout the day, diligently watch for changing conditions.
  • Wind slabs are most reactive during their formation.
  • Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.

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.