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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 24th, 2020–Jan 25th, 2020

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

Regions

Yukon.

New snow continues to accumulate and has initially fallen with little to no wind. The wind is forecast to pick up Friday night, so expect to see touchy wind slabs develop in lee terrain.

Confidence

Moderate - Uncertainty is due to the speed, direction, or duration of the wind and its effect on the snowpack.

Weather Forecast

FRIDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with isolated flurries, moderate wind from the southwest, alpine high temperatures around -10 C.

SATURDAY: Flurries, accumulation 5-10 cm, moderate wind from the south, alpine high temperatures around -11 C.

SUNDAY: Snow, accumulation 15-25 cm, moderate to strong wind from the southwest, alpine high temperatures around -7 C.

MONDAY: Flurries, accumulation 5-10 cm, moderate south wind, alpine high temperatures around -8 C.

Avalanche Summary

There have been no reports of avalanche activity in the past few days. Expect natural storm slab activity to increase on Sunday when moderate to heavy snowfall is forecast.

Snowpack Summary

30 cm of very light new snow has fallen over the past several days. Initially this snow fell with very little wind and is obscuring widespread wind effect from last week. Lingering buried hard wind slabs may still be found. Prolonged cold temperatures last week have faceted the buried wind slabs and wind crust formed during the wind event. Snow depths at White Pass average around 150 cm; deeper locations (higher terrain west of the highway) have as much as 200 cm. It's reasonable to expect a thin snowpack with sugary facets in the Wheaton Valley, although we don't yet have observations to confirm this.

Terrain and Travel

  • Pay attention to the wind, once it starts to blow fresh sensitive wind slabs are likely to form.
  • Wind slabs are most reactive during their formation.
  • Watch for areas of hard wind slab on alpine features.
  • Avoid slopes that sound hollow or drum-like.

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.