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

Nov 21st, 2024–Nov 22nd, 2024

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

Regions

South Coast, Powell River, North Shore, Sasquatch, Sasquatch, Sky Pilot, Tetrahedron.

Stormy conditions continue, which are elevating avalanche danger. Conservative terrain travel is recommended.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Natural and rider-triggered avalanches are likely as snow and strong wind form new slabs over the day on Friday. These will build on top of the slabs formed on Wednesday, which may still be triggerable in wind-exposed locations. Cautious terrain travel and avoidance of high-consequence avalanche terrain are smart choices during stormy weather.

Please consider sharing any observations you have on the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

The snowpack continues to build with an onslaught of storms. Each storm is bringing intense snow accumulation and strong wind, forming touchy storm and wind slabs. The freezing level varies between 1000 m and 1400 m on Friday, which means snow may transition to rain and wet the snowpack at lower elevations.

Various melt-freeze crusts are buried in the middle and lower snowpack, which aren't concerning avalanche layers.

The snowpack is around 150 cm deep at 1500 m, 100 cm deep at 1200 m, and it rapidly decreases with lower elevations.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow then clearing. 20 to 30 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.

Friday

Cloudy with 10 to 20 cm of snow and local amounts up to 30 cm possible. 60 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1400 m.

Saturday

Cloudy with 50 to 100 cm of snow. 50 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1100 m.

Sunday

Cloudy with 20 to 40 cm of snow. 30 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • It's a good day to make conservative terrain choices.
  • Avoid terrain traps such as gullies and cliffs where the consequence of any avalanche could be serious.
  • Storm slab size and sensitivity to triggering will likely increase through the day.
  • As the storm slab problem worsens, the easy solution is to choose more conservative terrain.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected 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.