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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 1st, 2022–Mar 2nd, 2022

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

Regions

Northwest Inland.

Pockets of wind slab likely exist in steep break-overs in terrain in the Alpine. Continue to investigate the bond at the mid-February crust layer that is now buried 40-70cm. 

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

Tuesday night: Cloudy. 5-10cm of new snow. Light winds from the south. -3°C

Wednesday: Mostly cloudy. 5cm of new snow with rain at lower elevations. Light winds from the south. A high of -2°C and a low of -4°C. Freezing levels around 950m. 

Thursday: A mix of sun and cloud. Winds beginning from the south and then shifting to north by the afternoon. A high of +1°C and a low of -2. Freezing level near 1000m

Friday: A mix of sun and clouds. No precipitation. Winds light from the north. A high of 0°C and a low of -5°C. 

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were reported as of Tuesday afternoon. That being said, visibility has been poor and observations are likely limited. 

Snowpack Summary

20-60cm of new snow now sits on top of a thick crust from mid-February. Some of this snow has been distributed into wind slab in leeward facing features at upper treeline and alpine elevations.

The upper snowpack appears to be bonding to the mid-February crust in most places. However, the field team did observe reactivity in test profiles on this layer (ECTP29) and the recipe for avalanches exists at this interface.

The lower snowpack is effectively capped, making human triggering of avalanches on deeper weak layers unlikely.

Terrain and Travel

  • Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
  • Avoid freshly wind loaded features, especially near ridge crests, roll-overs and in steep terrain.

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.

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.