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

Regions

South Coast.

A weak layer atypical of this region sits 30-60 cm deep. It is most prevalent on shady (north-facing) aspects around treeline. It may become more reactive as temperatures rise. Avoid terrain traps and approach convexities and wind loaded features with caution.

Confidence

Moderate - Uncertainty is due to how quickly the snowpack will recover and gain strength.

Weather Forecast

Wednesday night: 5-10 cm new snow. Moderate southwest wind. Freezing level 1000 m.

Thursday: Up to 5 cm new snow. Light to moderate southwest wind. Freezing level 1300 m.

Friday: Mix of sun and cloud. Light to moderate southwest wind. Freezing level 1500 m.

Saturday: 15-30 cm new snow. Light to moderate southwest wind. Freezing level 1000 m.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanche observations. This MIN post from Monday reports a skier triggered size 1 wind slab in the alpine, suspected to have run on surface hoar. Explosive control work conducted Monday produced size 1-1.5 storm slabs running on a crust.

Snowpack Summary

30-60 cm of recent snow sits over a layer of surface hoar on north-facing (shady) aspects. Surface hoar is an exceptionally weak layer not often seen in this region. There may also be areas where the buried surface hoar sits on a sun crust, which makes an excellent bed surface for avalanches. 

The remainder of the snowpack is well settled. Depth varies from around 250 to 300 cm at the peaks of the North Shore mountains (1400 m) tapering rapidly with elevation to no snow below 1000 m.

Terrain and Travel

  • Be alert to conditions that change with aspect and elevation.
  • Avoid terrain traps such as gullies and cliffs where the consequence of any avalanche could be serious.
  • Be aware of the potential for larger than expected storm slabs due to the presence of buried surface hoar.
  • Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.
  • Caution around convexities or sharp changes in terrain.

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.