Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 22nd, 2024–Jan 23rd, 2024

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Vancouver Island, East Island, North Island, South Island, West Island.

Assess for newly formed slabs if you travel above the rain-snow line. Continue to employ caution in high-consequence terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

We didn't receive any reports of avalanche activity over the weekend but suspect that wind slabs could have formed at high elevations above the rain-snow line.

If you head into the backcountry, please consider submitting a MIN report.

Snowpack Summary

Rain has left the snow surface wet at lower elevations and a mix of wet snow and hard melt-freeze crust around treeline. Dry snow may be found in the alpine, which has likely been redistributed by strong southerly wind.

The remainder of the snowpack is strong with numerous hard melt-freeze crusts.

Treeline snow depth ranges from 100 to 180 cm. Snow depth diminishes rapidly at low elevations where rain has prevailed for much of the winter.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm snow above 1400 m and rain below, southwest alpine wind 20 km/h, treeline temperature 1 °C, freezing level 1500 m.

Tuesday

Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm snow above 1400 m and rain below, southwest alpine wind 20 km/h, treeline temperature 0 °C, freezing level 1500 m dropping to 1100 m.

Wednesday

Cloudy with 10 to 30 cm snow above 1100 m and rain below, southwest alpine wind 40 to 60 km/h, treeline temperature 0 °C, freezing level 1100 m rising to 1500 m.

Thursday

Cloudy with 10 to 30 cm snow above 1300 m and rain below, southwest alpine wind 30 km/h, treeline temperature 1 °C, freezing level 1400 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Avoid terrain traps such as gullies and cliffs where the consequence of any avalanche could be serious.
Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.

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.