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

Dec 3rd, 2022–Dec 4th, 2022

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

Regions

South Coast, North Shore, Sasquatch, Sasquatch, Sky Pilot, Tetrahedron, Skagit.

Uncertainty remains around the impact of warming temperatures on Sunday.

Seek out slopes that haven't been impacted by wind or warming temperatures.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported in our area lately, and there have been few people reporting observations. If you're heading out to the backcountry, please check for current conditions on the MIN or consider posting after your day. It helps strengthen our information gathering.

Snowpack Summary

Between 20-40 cm of recent snow lays at the surface. The latest winds have left alpine and treeline slopes with pockets of heavily deposited snow or wind-affected snow. Earlier this week, many signs of instabilities were reported in the upper snowpack. Further deep, there are reports of a thick melt-freeze crust. At around 1000 m the snowpack reaches a depth of around 70 cm.

Lower treeline and below treeline elevation are still below the threshold for avalanches.

Weather Summary

An arctic ridge of high pressure will become the main attraction for the next few days. Inverted temperatures are due to the above-freezing layer. Sunny and dry conditions will last up to Tuesday night.

Saturday Night

Clearing sky. No precipitation. Moderate easterly ridge wind. Low of +3C at treeline. Freezing level rise to 2000 m. Strong alpine temperature inversion.

Sunday

Mostly sunny. Clear sky. Light variable ridge wind. High of+ 5 C at treeline. Freezing level rising to 2000 m. Alpine temperature inversion.

Monday

Sunny. No precipitation. Light variable ridge wind. High of -1 C at treeline. Freezing level lowering to the valley bottom.

Tuesday

Cloudy. Isolated flurries. Light westerly ridge wind. High of -4 C at treeline. Freezing level lowering to the valley bottom.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.
  • Seek out sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been wind-affected.
  • Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.

Problems

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.

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.