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

Jan 7th, 2024–Jan 8th, 2024

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

Regions

Northwest Inland, Howson, Kispiox, Microwave-Sinclair, North Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, Telkwa.

Westerly winds may build slabs in exposed areas today.

Back off if you observe any signs of instability, such as avalanches, whumpfs, or shooting cracks.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Saturday near Kispiox, size 1.5 avalanches were triggered by machines on steep cut banks at treeline, 60 and 80 cm deep.

Last week, backcountry users experienced whumpfs in the Babines, Grizzly Plateau, and around Hudson Bay Mountain.

These avalanches and the whumpfing are suspected to be failures of the buried surface hoar layers detailed in the Snowpack Summary. These observations suggest that humans could trigger avalanches where these layers remain intact.

Snowpack Summary

Another 5 cm today means up to 30 cm of soft snow exists in areas sheltered from the wind. Westerly winds will likely build reactive slabs on lee terrain features today.

At and below treeline, new snow overlies a melt-freeze crust.

Two or more preserved surface hoar layers can be found buried between 35 cm and 80 cm deep. These layers are most prominent at treeline and below treeline elevations above 1200 m, but they've also been observed in some alpine locations.

Snowpack depths at treeline vary across the region with generally deeper amounts (~150 cm) in the west and shallower (~80 cm) in the east.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Cloudy with trace snow, west alpine wind 20 to 40 km/h, treeline temperature -10 °C.

Monday

Cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow, west alpine wind 20 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -8 ºC. 

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy with trace snow, north alpine wind 10 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -10 ºC. 

Wednesday

A mix of sun and cloud, north alpine wind 10 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -15 ºC. 

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Approach steep open slopes at and below treeline cautiously, buried surface hoar may exist.
  • Look for signs of instability: whumphing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, and recent avalanches.
  • Recent wind has varied in direction so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.

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.

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.