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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 24th, 2019–Apr 25th, 2019

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

Regions

Sea To Sky.

Wind slabs at higher elevations may be reactive to human triggers especially where a winter-like snowpack still exists.

Confidence

Moderate - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

THURSDAY: Mainly cloudy with light precipitation. Alpine temperatures near 3 and freezing levels 2100 m. Ridgetop winds moderate from the southwest.

FRIDAY: Mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries. Alpine temperatures near -3 and freezing levels 1700 m. Ridgetop wind moderate from the West.

SATURDAY: Cloudy with sunny periods. Alpine temperatures near -6 and freezing levels 1700 m. Ridgetop wind moderate to strong from the West.

Avalanche Summary

No recent avalanche observations have been reported. On Monday, reports indicated that isolated pockets of moist snow produced small loose wet avalanches with daytime warming.

Last Saturday, a significant avalanche cycle occurred after the storm around the Whistler Backcountry. A natural wet loose avalanche cycle to size 2 was observed on all aspects from 1900-2200m. Wet slab avalanches to size 3 were observed on loaded northerly features in the alpine. Natural cornices failures to size 2 were also observed and explosives control work triggered cornices size 2-2.5. Further south in the region, cornices failing naturally triggered large (up to size 3) slab avalanches on the slopes below.

Snowpack Summary

In the alpine, up to 10 cm cold wind-affected snow is holding onto northerly aspects. Southerly winds have produced isolated wind slabs around ridges and in the immediate lee of slopes in the alpine. Cornices have been failing recently.

A crust is found on solar alpine slopes and all aspects below. Warm overnight temperatures are preventing strong crust recovery as you lose elevation. Expect thin surface crusts to break down quickly with daytime warming and rain. Below treeline the snowpack is saturated and rapidly melting.

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.

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.