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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 24th, 2024–Feb 25th, 2024

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

Regions

Sea To Sky, Brandywine, Garibaldi, Homathko, Powell River, Spearhead, Tantalus, Sky Pilot.

Reactive storm slabs will build over the day, as new snow falls on weak surfaces. Keep decision-making conservative and head to simple terrain if you see more than 30 cm of new snow.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Wind slab activity increased on Friday, with riders triggered size 1-2 wind slabs on Friday.

Natural avalanche activity is possible on Sunday as snow and wind develop sensitive slabs over weak snow surfaces.

Snowpack Summary

By Sunday evening, up to 40 cm of new snow is expected in Western areas, around 20 cm is expected for Whistler. This storm snow will fall over a variety of weak surfaces, including a crust on south facing slopes and low elevations, and faceted snow and/or small surface hoar in sheltered terrain. This facet/surface hoar layer is buried around 60-90 cm deep and is most prevalent at treeline and above.

The mid snowpack includes layers of facets and areas of isolated surface hoar found at treeline and above. Just below, a widespread, thick crust exists. This problematic combination remains a concern as load increases above it.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Cloudy with 5-15 cm of snow expected. 40-60 km/h southwest winds. Freezing levels around 1200 m.

Sunday

Cloudy with up to 20 cm of snow expected. 40-60 m/hr southwest winds gusting up to 90 km/hr in exposed high elevation areas. Treeline temperature -4 with freezing levels around 1200 m.

Monday

Mostly cloudy with scattered flurries bringing up to 5 cm of new snow. 30-40 km/h westerly wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C with freezing level falling to 500 m.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy with no snow expected. 20-30 km/h westerly winds. Treeline temperature -10 °C with freezing levels at valley bottom.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • If triggered, storm slabs in-motion may step down to deeper layers and result in very large avalanches.
  • Storm slab size and sensitivity to triggering will likely increase through the day.
  • Potential for wide propagation exists, fresh slabs may rest on surface hoar, facets and/or crust.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.