Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 26th, 2020–Feb 27th, 2020

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

Regions

Cariboos.

Snow, wind, and warming are forecast. Slab avalanches will be easy to trigger once recent snow forms slab properties over a buried surface hoar layer. Assessing for slab properties and conservative decision-making are recommended tactics.

Confidence

Moderate - Uncertainty is due to how buried persistent weak layers will react with the forecast incoming weather.

Weather Forecast

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 5 to 10 cm, moderate to strong west wind, alpine temperature -6 C, freezing level 1000 m.

THURSDAY: Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 5 to 10 cm, moderate to strong southwest wind, alpine temperature -5 C, freezing level rising to 1400 m.

FRIDAY: Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 5 to 10 cm, light southwest wind, alpine temperature -5 C, freezing level 1500 m.

SATURDAY: Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 5 to 10 cm, light southwest wind, alpine temperature -7 C, freezing level 1000 m.

Avalanche Summary

Some areas of the region saw no avalanche activity and other areas saw natural and human-triggered avalanche activity in the recent storm snow. The avalanches were small (size 1 to 1.5) and occurred around treeline and lower alpine elevations. Some of the avalanches were releasing on the surface hoar described in the Snowpack Summary.

Snowpack Summary

Around 30 to 50 cm of snow overlies a widespread layer of surface hoar that was reported to be between 5 and 15 mm in size. This layer exists on all aspects and elevations except for steep, sun-exposed aspects where it was melted by sun and formed a melt-freeze crust. Surface hoar sitting on a thin sun crust may exist on lower angle solar aspects, which is a particularly nasty combination. So far, the overlying snow has been reactive to human activity where the wind has redistributed it, forming a slab. This has been most common around treeline and alpine elevations.

The mid and lower snowpack is generally well-settled and strong.

Terrain and Travel

  • Stick to simple terrain or small features with limited consequence.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Avoid terrain traps such as gullies and cliffs where the consequence of any avalanche could be serious.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to the presence of buried surface hoar.

Problems

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.