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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 24th, 2014–Jan 25th, 2014

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.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Sea To Sky.

Check out the latest blog post on deep persistent slab problems.For those of you planing glacier travel over the weekend, be aware that crevasses are poorly bridged. Check out the recent MCR post from Decker Mtn.

Confidence

Good

Weather Forecast

Saturday: Sunny with cloudy periods and possible morning valley fog. Light alpine winds. Freezing level as high as 3200m with alpine temperature reaching +10 C, but cooler in valley bottoms. Sunday: Sunny with cloudy periods and possible morning valley fog. Light alpine winds. Freezing level as high as 2700m with alpine temperature reaching +5 C, but cooler in valley bottoms. Monday: Cloudy with sunny periods. Light alpine winds. Freezing level around 1100m.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were reported on Tuesday. Loose wet avalanches are likely, especially on sun-exposed slopes.

Snowpack Summary

The surface snow is likely undergoing a melt-freeze cycle on all but high elevation shady aspects. The record low snowpack is generally well settled and strong; however, facets with an associated laminated crust still lurk near the base. Recent snowpack tests on a SSW facing treeline slope gave hard but sudden results on a crust laminated with facets down 118cm. Below that, facets and depth hoar were found down to the ground. Although warm temperatures tend to promote settlement and strengthening over time, the initial strain could easily reawaken these deep persistent slabs.

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.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.