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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 25th, 2022–Dec 26th, 2022

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 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, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Coquihalla, Harrison-Fraser, Manning, Skagit.

Strong wind, more precipitation, and freezing levels spiking overnight will keep avalanche hazard elevated.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Poor weather and road closures have limited observations, however, we suspect a natural avalanche cycle occurred sometime Sunday.

Please continue to post your observations and photos to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

Dry snow may persist at the highest elevations, however, most surfaces are moist with a saturated snowpack at lower elevations.

At the start of the storm, fresh snow covered a layer of facetted and unconsolidated snow which formed during the recent cold weather. The snowpack was well settled and bonding well. Snowpack depths reach 200 cm at treeline and higher.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Rain, 5-10 mm. Ridgetop low temperature +4 C. Southwest wind gusting to 60 km/hr. Freezing level spiking above 2500 m and dropping to 2200 m by dawn.

Monday

Rain and wet snow with cooling through the day, 20 mm. Flurries possible above 1800 m as temperatures drop. Ridgetop low temperature -2 C. Southwest wind 30-50 km/hr. Freezing level below 1500 m by end of day.

Continued precipitation and high freezing levels will produce a variety of frozen water forms including freezing rain at roadside elevations.

Tuesday

Wet flurries, 5-10 mm. Ridgetop high temperature +2 C. Southwest wind 30-50 km/hr. Freezing level rising to 2000 m.

Wednesday

Flurries. Ridgeline high temperature -1 C. Southwest wind 30-50 km/hr. Freezing falling to valley bottom.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be alert to conditions that change with aspect and elevation.
  • The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.
  • Minimize exposure during periods of heavy loading from new snow, wind or rain.

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.

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.