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

Feb 6th, 2022–Feb 7th, 2022

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

Regions

South Coast Inland.

Avoid avalanche terrain at treeline where triggering a persistent slab is most likely. This layer can be remotely triggered, think about overhead hazard.

Confidence

Moderate - Uncertainty is due to the fact that persistent slabs are particularly difficult to forecast.

Weather Forecast

Sunday night: no new snow expected. Moderate to strong southwest winds and a Low of -4 at 1500m.

Monday: light precipitation throughout the day bringing 5 to 15cm of snow with moderate west winds. freezing level around 1300m.

Tuesday: trace amounts of new snow with moderate to strong west winds and a high of -3 at 1500m.

Wednesday: sunny with no new snow expected. moderate northwest winds and freezing levels rising to 3000m.

Avalanche Summary

On Saturday a fatal avalanche occurred in the Duffy Lake area. This avalanche was a large, size 3, skier triggered avalanche with significant propagation. It was triggered in the upper treeline on a northeast aspect. It failed on a layer of surface hoar before stepping down to a crust from late January. A more detailed report can be found here. This layer was also responsible for a skier triggered size 2.5 avalanche last week in the neighboring Sea to Sky region.

Snowpack Summary

wind slab will likely be found on north and east aspects in treeline and above. A new crust will likely form below treeline as the freezing levels fall. This crust could also likely be found on south facing slopes in the alpine.

20 to 70 cm sits above a variety of surfaces including surface hoar, facets and a crust. This layer is most prominent at treeline and above. Especially in the Duffy area where it can be found on all aspects.

Terrain and Travel

  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to the presence of buried weak layers.
  • Remote triggering is a concern, avoid terrain where triggering slopes from below is possible
  • Avoid freshly wind loaded features, especially near ridge crests, roll-overs and in steep terrain.

Problems

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.

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.