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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 25th, 2023–Dec 26th, 2023

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

Regions

Sea To Sky, South Coast, Brandywine, Garibaldi, Homathko, Powell River, Tantalus, North Shore, Sky Pilot, Tetrahedron.

Due to intense snow, warming and rainfall, adjust travel plans accordingly. Seek sheltered and low-angled terrain.

On thin lower elevation terrain, early-season hazards still exist.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were reported before 4pm on Monday.

If you do head into the backcountry please consider submitting observations and/or photos on the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

The current storms snowfall and rainfall will begin breaking down the upper snowpack crust at lower elevations and as south winds increase build deeper slabs at higher elevations. Expected cornice features to increase in size and the snowpack to become unconsolidated at lower elevations due to a mix of snow and rain.

The mid and lower snowpack is made up of a series of crusts and rounded grains and is well consolidated.

Overall, the snow depth tapers rapidly with elevation and remains shallow creating challenging travel conditions and hiding early season hazards just below the snow surface.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

Cloudy. Heavy snow and rain expected 60 to 100 mm. Freezing level rising to 1500-2000 m. Treeline temperature around 3 °C. strong gusting extreme, south west ridgetop wind.

Tuesday

Cloudy with afternoon clearing. Heavy snow and rain that is expected to cease in the am 20-40 mm. Freezing level 1200-1500 m. Treeline temperature around 1 °C. Strong easing to moderate , south west ridgetop wind.

Wednesday

Cloudy. Snow and rain that is expected to begin in the pm 10 to 20 mm. Freezing level 1500-1900 m. Treeline temperature around 2 °C. Moderate gusting strong, south ridgetop wind.

Thursday

Cloudy. Snow and rain that is expected to begin in the pm 10 to 15 mm. Freezing level 1500 m. Treeline temperature around 0 °C. Moderate gusting strong, south west ridgetop wind.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.
  • Approach lee and cross-loaded slopes with caution.
  • Be cautious of buried obstacles especially below treeline.

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.