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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 26th, 2023–Mar 27th, 2023

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.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

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

Be cautious as you transition into wind-affected terrain, easterly winds may be forming fresh reactive wind slabs.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Around Mount Cain on Friday, our field team observed small (size 1.5) dry loose avalanches occurring once new snow was exposed to daytime warming and solar input.

On Wednesday, our field team reported several loose wet avalanches on south aspect terrain. Explosive avalanche control utilizing a large explosive on a steep north aspect incised rocky gulley feature produced a large (size 2.5) slab avalanche. This avalanche ran on an old melt freeze crust, was 100 cm deep at the crown and ran to the bottom of the run out.

Backcountry users will likely see evidence of a small wet loose avalanche cycle from recent rain and solar input below treeline.

If you head out in the backcountry, let us know what you are seeing by submitting a report to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

In terrain above 1600 m up to 10-30 cm of preserved and wind-affected dry snow is likely to exist. An established melt freeze crust can be found at elevations 1600 m and below. At all elevations the mid and lower snowpack has a number of old melt freeze crusts that are unreactive and overall presents as consolidated, well settled and strong.

Weather Summary

Sunday night

Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries. Alpine temperatures drop to a low of -5 °C. Ridge wind 10 to 35 km/h from the south. Freezing level 400 metres.

Monday

Sunny with cloudy periods. Alpine temperatures reach a high of 0 °C. Ridge wind southeast 20 km/h gusting to 60 km/h. Freezing level rises to 1300 metres.

Tuesday

Sunny. Alpine temperatures reach a high of 3 °C. Ridge wind east 30 km/h gusting to 70 km/h. Freezing level rises to 1600 metres.

Wednesday

Sunny with cloudy periods. Alpine temperatures reach a high of 6 °C. Ridge wind 15 to 30 km/h from the northeast. Freezing level rises to 1900 metres.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Look for signs of instability: whumphing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, and recent avalanches.
  • Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
  • As surface loses cohesion due to melting, loose wet avalanches become common in steeper terrain.

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.