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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 24th, 2022–Feb 25th, 2022

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.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Regions

South Coast.

Recently formed wind slabs are expected to be still reactive to human-triggering, especially in eastern parts of the region which received more recent storm snow. 

Confidence

Moderate - Uncertainty is due to the limited number of field observations.

Weather Forecast

A strong ridge of high pressure keeps BC dry until a major weather pattern change takes place beginning this weekend. 

THURSDAY NIGHT: Clear, no precipitation, 10-15 km/h northwesterly wind, treeline low temperature -5 C, freezing level at 350 m.

FRIDAY: A mix of sun and cloud, no precipitation, 5-10 km/h westerly wind, treeline high temperature -3 C, freezing level at 850 m.

SATURDAY: Increasing cloudiness with light snow beginning in the late afternoon, 1-2 cm, 30-50 km/h southerly wind, treeline high temperature -1 C, freezing level at 1200 m.

SUNDAY: Snow heavy at times, 30-40 cm, 40-60 km/h southerly wind, treeline high temperaure -2 C, freezing level at 1000 m.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanche activity was reported on Wednesday.

Snowpack Summary

Recent strong northly winds have redistributed last weekend storm snow into wind slabs up to 1 m on lee slopes and scoured down to the crust in exposed terrain.

The mid-February crust is down around 25-50 cm and exists on all aspects and elevations. There is still a fair bit of uncertainty as to how the recent snow is bonding to this crust but an observation from the North Shore suggests that it is bonding well. 

The late-January melt-freeze crust is now down around 80 cm and seems to be well bonded to the surrounding snow. The middle and lower snowpack are considered well settled and strong.

Terrain and Travel

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the crust.

Problems

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.