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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 14th, 2014–Jan 15th, 2014

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, human triggered possible.

Regions

Northwest Inland.

Confidence

Good

Weather Forecast

Tonight and Wednesday:  The cold front move SE of the region tonight. Precipitation will ease, extreme winds should remain strong from the NW, freezing levels lower to around 600 m by tomorrow morning. Thursday: A ridge of high pressure is well in place. Continuing rising freezing levels climbing to 1700 m on Friday. Strong SW winds are forecasted. Friday overlook: Ridge is still dominating the pattern with clear skies and warm temperatures.

Avalanche Summary

Yesterday, there was reports of natural storm snow avalanches releasing in wind loaded features from the west of the region.

Snowpack Summary

The recent wind event and forecasted strong winds from the NW will continue developping windslabs in the alpine and at treeline. Lee alpine slopes and open treeline areas will remain touchy tomorrow. Solar radiation on steep S facing slopes could also weaken the snowpack and cornices which could trigger fresh slabs.Up to 60 to 75cm cm of low density snow now overlies heavily wind-affected surfaces and well developed surface hoar or crust in sheltered areas mid-treeline and below. The mid and lower snowpack are found to be generally gaining strength with depth until the bottom 20-40cm where weak faceted crystals exist down to the ground. The fluctuating freezing levels created a crust at lower elevations.

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.