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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 20th, 2020–Jan 21st, 2020

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

Regions

Cariboos.

Storm slabs may be reactive to human triggering, especially in wind loaded areas, and at upper elevations. Watch for signs of instability such as whumphing, cracking and recent avalanches.

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

MONDAY NIGHT - Cloudy with clear periods / southeast wind, 10-30 km/h / alpine low temperature near -6

TUESDAY - Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries / southeast wind, 20-40 km/h / alpine high temperature near -4

WEDNESDAY - Cloudy with sunny periods / southwest wind, 15-30 km/h / alpine high temperature near -7

THURSDAY - Flurries, 5-10 cm / southwest wind, 30-50 km/h / alpine high temperature near -2 / freezing level 1500 m

Avalanche Summary

Avalanche activity has quieted down over the past few days, but recent snowfall and moderate southwest winds will mean that there will likely be fresh storm slabs, with the most reactive being in exposed terrain in the alpine and at treeline.

There have been no recent reports of persistent slab avalanches.

Snowpack Summary

The south of the region received around 10 to 20 cm of snow over the weekend. The snow was accompanied by moderate southerly winds and relatively warm temperatures, which will mean that the new snow has likely formed storm slabs in the alpine and at treeline.

The main concern over the past couple of weeks has been a layer of surface hoar buried 60 to 120 cm deep. This layer appears to be gaining strength and there have been no avalanches reported on this layer in the past week.

Terrain and Travel

  • Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
  • Approach steep open slopes at and below treeline cautiously, buried surface hoar may exist.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.

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.