Avalanche forecast

South Coast

Mar 6, 2018Avalanche Canada
View on map
Archived · expired 9 years ago

Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
Open full map

Highlights

Cornices and surface snow could become weak when hit by direct sunlight.

Avalanche problems

  • Cornices

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–3
    Continued snowfall and strong wind from around the clock has formed large cornices on many ridgelines. Cornices are inherently unstable, unpredictable, and demand respect, especially when the sun is out.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–2
    Snow from last week's storm is quickly gaining strength, but may still be suspect on south-facing slopes where it sits above a buried sun crust.

Confidence

Moderate - Due to the number and quality of field observations

Weather Forecast

TUESDAY: Increasing cloud throughout the day with isolated flurries and trace amounts of new snow, light west wind, alpine high temperatures around -10 C.WEDNESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, light wind, alpine high temperatures around -8 C.THURSDAY: Cloudy, light wind with moderate gusts, alpine high temperatures around -8 C.

Avalanche Summary

No recent avalanches have been reported.Check out this MCR report (here) that talks about the strong late winter sun initiating natural avalanches to size 2 on Thursday.

Snowpack Summary

Isolated flurries are depositing light amounts of new snow throughout the region and sporadic sunny breaks could weaken the surface snow. 50-70 cm of storm snow from last week is settling and gaining strength. On southerly aspects, the storm snow sits above a sun crust which is a potential sliding layer to monitor.Cornices have formed on many alpine ridgelines. They will become touchier as they grow in size, as temperatures rise, and as they are subject to the strong late-winter sun on clear days.

Regions covered