Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Apr 5th, 2021 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Storm Slabs and Cornices.
dsaly,
Avalanche Canada
Watch for fresh slabs developing as snow and flurries accumulate through Tuesday.
Summary
Confidence
Moderate - Uncertainty is due to the track & intensity of the incoming weather system.
Weather Forecast
MONDAY NIGHT: Flurries and snow 5-10 cm, moderate west wind, treeline temperatures around -3 C with freezing levels dropping below 500 m.
TUESDAY: Ongoing flurries with up to 25 cm accumulating by the end of Tuesday, moderate southwest wind, treeline temperatures around -2 C and freezing level up to 1000 m.
WEDNESDAY: Overnight flurries tapering by morning for mix of sun and cloud, moderate west wind, treeline temperatures around -2 C and freezing level up to 1000 m.
THURSDAY: Flurries arriving late in the day, increasing southwesterly wind, treeline temperatures below 0 C with freezing level dropping below 500 m.
Avalanche Summary
Explosives successfully targeted a few glide slabs on Sunday and loose wet avalanches were observed on sunny slopes. And further inland strong winds contributed to intense wind-loading in areas with fresh wind slab avalanches to size 2 failing in immediate lee features.
During the storm on Friday and Saturday there were numerous reports of natural storm slab avalanches at upper elevations (up to size 2), as well as many loose wet avalanches on steep sun-exposed slopes on Saturday afternoon.
Over the past few week there have been some large natural and explosive triggered glide slab avalanches along the Skeena corridor. Glide cracks releasing as full depth glide slab avalanches are extremely difficult to predict. Best practice is to avoid slopes with glide cracks.
Snowpack Summary
Over the past week, 40-60 cm of snow has fallen at upper elevations. While this snow is well settled, wind slabs may linger on steep open slopes. Sun crusts may be found on sun-exposed slopes. Cornices are large, looming, and capable of triggering large avalanches when they fail. Previous weak layers are now deeply buried and have not resulted in any recent avalanches.
At lower elevations, recent snow was mixed with rain, soaking the snow surface, which then formed a hard crust.Â
Terrain and Travel
- Watch for changing conditions today, storm slabs may become increasingly reactive.
- Dial back your terrain choices if you are seeing more than 25cm of new snow.
- Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.
- Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
- Avoid exposure to slopes that have cornices overhead.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Flurries depositing up to 25 cm accumulating by the end of Tuesday may develop slabs, especially where wind redistributes dry snow. Expect to find wet flurries and rain below 1000 m.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Cornices
Cornices are large and looming along many ridgelines, and have likely grown with the recent snow and wind.
Aspects: North, North East, East, West, North West.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Apr 6th, 2021 4:00PM
