Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 4th, 2017–Apr 5th, 2017

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 unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

North Columbia.

Cornice falls have been responsible for most of the avalanches reported in the past few days. Wind slabs or cornices may trigger persistent weak layers resulting in large avalanches.

Confidence

-

Weather Forecast

Overnight: Overcast with moderate southwest winds and freezing down to 800 metres. Wednesday: Strong southwest winds combined with 3-5 cm of new snow and daytime freezing up to 1500 metres. Thursday: Overcast with light southeast winds and a couple more cm of new snow. Daytime freezing up to 1700 metres. Friday: Mostly cloudy with some sunny breaks and periods of convective flurries. Daytime freezing up to 2000 metres.

Avalanche Summary

Natural storm slab avalanches up to size 2.5 were reported on Monday from the Selkirks. Natural storm slab avalanches up to size 3.0 were reported on Sunday from both the Monashees and the Selkirks. Natural and explosives controlled cornice falls released up to size 2.5 on their own, and up to size 3.0 where they pulled a slab on the slope below.

Snowpack Summary

10-20 cm of recent snow now overlies a crust below about 2200 metres (higher on solar aspects) and moist snow below about 1700 metres. Below the new snow interface, storms over the past week brought 40-60 cm of snow to the region. Several other crusts as well as moist snow are likely to exist within this storm snow, mainly at lower elevations and on solar aspects. Moderate to strong southwest winds during and since the storm formed wind slabs on leeward slopes as well as fragile cornices along ridgelines. 90-130 cm of accumulated snow now overlies a more widespread rain crust below 2000 m and sun crust on solar aspects at higher elevations. At higher elevations, the February weak layers are down 160-200 cm and the deep mid-December facet layer and November rain crust both still linger near the bottom of the snowpack. These layers were active during a storm in mid-March and produced some very large avalanches. Occasional deep releases were also reported in late March and these deeply buried weaknesses remain a serious concern as solar radiation and warming temperatures begin to penetrate the snowpack at increasingly higher elevations.

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.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.