Avalanche forecast

Northwest Coastal

Apr 4, 2018Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 8 years ago

Avalanche danger

Thu
Fri
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Fresh storm slabs will be reactive to human triggers at higher elevations. Use extra caution on south-facing slopes when the sun is out.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    2–2.5
    A buried surface hoar layer produced large slab avalanches at the end of March. There's some uncertainty as to how long this layer will remain a problem, but it's best to carefully evaluate sheltered north and east slopes.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–2
    15-30 cm of new snow with moderate west wind has formed fresh slabs. Human triggering is likely in steep terrain and where the wind has formed thicker deposits.

Confidence

Moderate - Due to the number and quality of field observations

Weather Forecast

WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny, light wind, freezing level up to 600 m, alpine high temperatures near -8 C.THURSDAY: Snow starting in the morning with 4-8 cm accumulations by the afternoon, strong south wind, freezing level near valley bottom, alpine high temperatures near -10 C.FRIDAY: Continued light flurries with another 5 cm of snow, moderate south wind, freezing level up to 600 m, alpine high temperatures near -8 C.

Avalanche Summary

Preliminary reports from Tuesday suggest some avalanche activity likely occurred at higher elevations during the storm.No new avalanches were reported on Monday and activity on Sunday was limited to a few small loose avalanches on steep sun-exposed slopes.Last week, large persistent slab avalanches were reported on east to northeast aspects at all elevations. These were failing on the early-March and mid-March layers.

Snowpack Summary

10-30 cm of new snow sits above a variety of crusts on all but high north aspects.In the south of the region, 70 to 90 cm of snow overlies two layers of surface hoar. The layers are most prominent on north to east aspects and were buried early-March and mid-March. In the north of the region, these layers are around 40 cm deep.Shallower parts of the region, such as the far north, have weak sugary facets near the bottom of the snowpack.

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