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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 18th, 2025–Dec 19th, 2025

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Early Season
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Early Season
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Early Season

Regions

Chic-Choc Mountains, Chic-Chocs.

Friday's weather mix will certainly melt the current snowpack. The cohesion of the surface snow will be limited due to warming temperatures and rain. Bring your umbrella and water skis for your trip to the mountains!

Confidence

Moderate

  • Uncertainty is due to how the snowpack will react to the forecast weather.

Avalanche Summary

No avalanche activity was observed or reported.

If you head into the backcountry, thanks for sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network (MIN).

Snowpack Summary

The thickness of the snowpack will be significantly reduced by Friday's weather throughout the day. The surface layers will be wet due to the amount of rain expected.

On Saturday, residual snow could leave light accumulations on the new crust that will form across the mountains, but it will have difficulty sticking to the frozen ground due to the strong winds expected.

We are still in early season conditions: there are numerous obstacles on the ground, and they are still very much present!

Weather Summary

WEATHER FOR THE CHIC-CHOCS RIDGES AND SUMMITS

A significant low-pressure system will pass over the Gaspé Peninsula on Friday, causing temperatures to rise to 10 °C, with extreme southerly winds and heavy rainfall.

Thursday evening and night: Snow showers. Wind from the southwest at 30 to 80 km/h. Low -8.

Friday: Intermittent rain, 15 to 20 mm. Wind from the south at 80 to 100 km/h. High +10. Freezing level at 3000 m.

Saturday: Snow, 3 to 5 cm. Northwest wind 60 to 80 km/h. High -10.

Sunday: Snow, 1 to 3 cm. Southeast wind 40 to 50 km/h. High -7.

For more details, see the Chic-Chocs alpine weather forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid avalanche terrain during periods of heavy rain.
  • Small avalanches can have serious consequences in extreme terrain. Carefully evaluate your line for slabs before you commit to it.
  • Approach lee and cross-loaded slopes with caution.

Problems

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.

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.