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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 5th, 2024–Dec 6th, 2024

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
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, Howson, Kispiox, Microwave-Sinclair, Ningunsaw, Ningunsaw, Ningunsaw, North Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, Telkwa.

Be alert to conditions that change with aspect and elevation.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Our limited field data suggests a natural avalanche cycle occurred in the past few days as rain and warm temperatures infiltrated the region. Slab avalanches up to size 2 were reported in the Smithers and Seaton areas.

If you head to the backcountry please consider submitting your observations to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

New snow accumulates atop a moist, and in some places isothermal, snowpack from rain in the past few days. Strong winds will create heavily wind-affected surfaces and redistribute new snow into fresh wind slabs.

We'll need to reassess whether two surface hoar layers in the mid-snowpack have survived or been cleaned out by the rain.

Deeper in the snowpack, a rain crust from early November seems to be bonding well to the surrounding snow.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Cloudy with up to 5 mm of precipitation. 40 to 60 km/h southwest ridge top wind. Freezing level drops to 1600 m. Treeline temperature 0 °C.

Friday

Mostly cloudy with up to 10 cm of new snow. 40 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level 1400 m. Treeline temperature -1 °C.

Saturday

Cloudy with up to 5 cm of new snow. 30 to 50 km/h south ridge top wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C.

Sunday

A mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries. 30 to 50 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Keep in mind that the high density of wet avalanches can make them destructive.

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.