Avalanche Forecast

Moderate - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain

Thin high cloud developing overnight with moderate west or northwest winds and alpine temperatures around -5. High cloud in the morning on Thursday with moderate to strong westerly winds. Cloud increasing during the day with a chance of flurries in the evening. Overcast with light snow on Friday, expect 2-3 cm by morning and another 3-5 cm during the day. Overcast with light snow or flurries on Saturday with alpine temperatures around -15.

No new avalanches reported. In the north of the region near Ningunsaw there was a natural avalanche size 3.5 that released in the basal facets on Monday. This is a good reminder that large full depth avalanches are possible in shallow snowpack areas. A natural avalanche cycle with slides up to size 2 occurred Friday in the mountains near Smithers. This was in response to the strong northerly winds. Wind slabs will likely remain touchy throughout the forecast period, as sustained winds redistribute any loose surface snow. Deeper persistent weak layers will also remain a concern, it is possible to trigger large avalanches.

The height of snow on the ground at treeline in most of the recreation areas in this region is about 100 cm. Deeper snowpack areas in the south and west of the region may have closer to 200 cm at treeline and up to 250 cm in the alpine. The shallow snowpack areas mostly consist of weak facetted or sugary grains beneath hard wind slabs. These wind slabs may produce surprisingly long fractures resulting in large avalanches, and in some instances they may step down to weak snow crystals near or at the ground.In addition to the sugary facets, you may find a layer of feathery surface hoar (up to 15 mm in sheltered areas), buried around 20 - 30 cm below the surface. There is another weak layer that formed during the early December cold snap which is now about 40-60 cm deep. A crust from mid-November may be found close to the bottom of the snowpack nestled in amongst the facets. We don't have a lot of information about these layers, but it's worth noting the layer responsible for most of the large avalanches during the big storm just before Christmas was the mid-November rain crust.