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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 6th, 2013–Dec 7th, 2013

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

Regions

Northwest Inland.

This forecast is based on limited field observations. If you head into the mountains, please send a note to [email protected] and let us know what you saw.

Confidence

Poor - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

Saturday: Partly cloudy with light flurries possible, moderate to strong outflow winds in valley bottoms and moderate northeasterly alpine winds. Treeline temperatures expected to be around -15. Sunday: Partly cloudy but dry with moderate northertly alpine winds. Above freezing temperatures possible between 1500m and 2000m. Monday: Partly cloudy but dry with moderate northertly alpine winds and slightly warmer temperatures.

Avalanche Summary

No recent avalanches have been reported, but reports are limited.

Snowpack Summary

Snowpack depths are likely highly variable across the region, with elevation, and in wind-exposed areas. Low-elevation and wind-affected areas likely have a shallow faceted snowpack. While in higher elevation sheltered areas the recent storm snow is likely settling and gaining strength; however, weaknesses at the old snow interface down approximately 40cm may still need time to heal. In the Ashman Ridge area on Sunday, this interface gave easy compression test results. Northerly outflow winds are likely forming fresh wind slabs in exposed lee terrain and scouring windward terrain. Average snowpack depths near treeline are highly variable, but around a metre in sheltered areas.

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.