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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 15th, 2019–Dec 16th, 2019

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

Regions

Northwest Inland.

Strong gusty winds will redistribute new flurries and older, recent snow. More reactive deposits are likely found in the alpine and near ridgetop.

Confidence

Low - Uncertainty is due to the limited number of field observations.

Weather Forecast

Sunday Night: Flurries, 5-10 cm accumulating overnight. Alpine temperature -6 C. Southwest wind 25-30 with gusts to 80 km/hr.

Monday: Flurries and snow, 5-10 cm. Alpine temperature -1 C. Southwest wind 30 gusting to 60 km/hr. Freezing level 1100 m.

Tuesday: Snow, 10-20 cm. Alpine temperature -3 C. Southwest wind 25 gusting to 80 km/hr. Freezing level 1100 m.

Wednesday: Snow and flurries, 10-30 cm. Alpine temperature -3 C. South wind 20 gusting to 60 km/hr. Freezing level 1000 m.

Avalanche Summary

There have been no recent reports of avalanche activity.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 10 cm new snow is expected to bury the 10-20 cm of recent fresh snow. Strong south-southwesterly winds will encourage slab development, especially in places with deeper deposits.

This new and recent snow may now cover a concerning layer of surface hoar that formed in areas sheltered from the wind. Reports suggest this layer can be found on all aspects up into treeline. In the alpine, the snow has buried hard wind slabs and/or sun crusts on south-facing terrain.

Snowpack depths are 50-100 cm in alpine areas around Smithers, with depths diminishing rapidly below 1500 m. The relatively thin snowpack has likely caused weak faceted snow to form near the ground.

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.