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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 22nd, 2013–Dec 23rd, 2013

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

Regions

Northwest Inland.

Forecasters are working with very limited field data at this time. If you are traveling in the backcountry we'd love to hear about what you're seeing out there! [email protected]

Confidence

Poor - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

Synopsis: The freezing level should top out around 1700m a few hours after sunset. Parts of the region may see a small amount of rain before the night is over. Sunday Night: Dropping to around 800m overnight. Precip: Trace Monday: Freezing Level: 900m Precip: Nil Wind: Mod, W gusting StrongTuesday: Freezing Level: 500m Precip: 1/3mm 2/6cm Wind: Mod, W gusting Extreme.Wednesday: Freezing Level: 1600m Precip: 6/10mm Wind: Mod, W gusting Extreme.

Avalanche Summary

No avalanches reported in the last week.

Snowpack Summary

We got a couple of observations from Saturday which is great! There is significant variation in snow depths across the region. In the Smithers area the ski hill is reporting an 89 cm base while the Ashman trailer is around the same. Treeline depths vary between 100 - 200 cm.The region has picked up 10 - 30 cm of cold new snow over the last three days. Last weekend's storm finished very warm, as a result a crust can be found near the snow surface below 1100m. The best guess is that the last storm produced around 10 - 50 cm of snow. This snow now overlies the layer of facets/surface hoar that sit above old wind slabs and melt-freeze crusts which were formed during the December cold/dry spell. We don't have great wind stations in the region, but the coast saw a lot of strong wind during the last storm & I suspect this region was similarly hammered by wind. The mid and lower snowpack is still structurally weak due to facets, potentially even depth hoar and an early season crust near the ground.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.