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

Apr 10th, 2019–Apr 11th, 2019

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

Regions

Northwest Inland.

Natural avalanche activity is possible when the sun shines, initiating loose wet avalanches especially on solar slopes.

Confidence

Moderate - Due to the number and quality of field observations

Weather Forecast

Unsettled weather leading into the weekend with a mix of sun and cloud and some convective precipitation. The next frontal system will hit the coast Saturday.THURSDAY: A mix of sun and cloud with alpine temperatures near -5 and freezing levels 1400 m. Ridgetop winds light from the northeast.FRIDAY: A mix of sun and cloud with alpine temperatures near -2 and freezing levels 1300 m. Ridgetop winds moderate primarily from the southwest.SATURDAY: Cloudy with a trace of snow. Alpine temperatures near -1 and freezing levels 1300 m. Ridgetop winds will generally be light with strong gusts from the southwest.

Avalanche Summary

No recent avalanche activity reported on Wednesday. If you're out we'd love it if you would submit what you're seeing to the Mountain Information Network.The sun can really pack at punch this time of year and trigger loose wet avalanches, especially on solar aspects. North facing alpine slopes may have the best snow quality, however reactive wind slabs remain possible to trigger.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 20 cm of storm snow from last weekend now rests on a weak layer buried April 4th which consists of a 4 cm crust, surface hoar and facets. The recent snow has transitioned into a hard surface on most aspects and elevations with the exception of high alpine North aspects. Spotty surface hoar and facets have been reported on top of the crust on high elevation north facing slopes. Light to moderate wind generally out of the south over the weekend may have formed shallow wind slabs that may be sensitive to human triggering especially where it sits above the April 4th interface.North facing alpine terrain also has a layer of facets down 30 to 50 cm below the surface, but this layer has not been recently active and is likely trending towards dormancy.Below treeline the snowpack is isothermal throughout much of the forecast region.

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.