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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 19th, 2019–Apr 20th, 2019

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

Regions

Northwest Coastal.

Stronger sunshine and warmer temperatures are the concern for Saturday. New snow that sees sun for the first time is expected to shed easily, whether naturally or with light triggers. Please post your observations to the Mountain Information Network!

Confidence

Moderate - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

Friday night: Clear with cloudy periods. Light to moderate northwest winds.

Saturday: A mix of sun and cloud. Light variable winds. Alpine high temperatures around -2 with freezing levels to 1200 metres.

Sunday: Cloudy with scattered flurries bringing approximately 5 cm of new snow, increasing overnight. Moderate south winds increasing overnight. Alpine high temperatures around -1 with freezing levels to 1300 metres.

Monday: Cloudy with continuing flurries bringing 10-20 cm of new snow and new snow totals to 20-35 cm. Moderate rain below about 1200 metres. Precipitations easing overnight. Strong south winds, easing over the day. Alpine high temperatures around 0 with freezing levels to 1500 metres.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported in the region. Please submit your observations to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

5-10 cm of new snow fell over Thursday night, bringing new snow totals since Tuesday to approximately 20-40 cm. Moderate to strong southwest winds are expected to have formed reactive wind slabs with the new snow over the same time period.

The new snow has buried another wind-redistributed 5 to 20 cm of snow that fell on Saturday. This previous snow remains dry on high elevation north facing slopes, while a 5 to 10 cm melt freeze crust can be found instead on all other aspects.

The April 4th crust is now down 30 to 100 cm on high elevation north facing slopes. Surface hoar and facets were previously observed on this crust and it recently produced sudden results in snowpack tests. It is uncertain whether it became involved in any natural avalanche activity during the past few stormy days.

At lower elevations, ongoing warm weather has been promoting isothermal snowpack conditions and melting the snowpack away.

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.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.