Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 2nd, 2013–Dec 3rd, 2013

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
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.

Regions

Northwest Coastal.

Data is very limited from the region. Please send your field observations to [email protected].

Confidence

Poor - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

Tonight and Tuesday: Clear and cold. Expect mountaintop temperatures to dip close to -20. Strong outflow winds (from the N-E) are forecast near coastal inlets and valleys.Outlook: Continued cold and clear weather should be the story all week. Alpine temperatures should hover between -10 and -20, and winds should remain moderate to strong from the North-Northeast.

Avalanche Summary

Recent observations near Shames include a couple large glide slab releases in steep terrain (up to size 3), and several natural size 1-2 storm or wind slabs from open terrain at treeline. Expect wind slabs to remain touchy and new ones to form on South and West aspects from forecast outflow winds.

Snowpack Summary

Around 40 cm of recent storm snow has fallen in some areas. This new snow may not be bonding well to the previous snow surface. Winds during the recent storms produced wind slabs on east and north east lee slopes at tree line and above. Expect some reverse loading this week as the outflow winds pick up, particularly near the coast. Rain at lower elevations saturated the lower snowpack below tree line, which should freeze pretty solid as temperatures plummet this week. Average snowpack depths near treeline are around100 cm.

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.