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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 20th, 2020–Mar 21st, 2020

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

Regions

South Coast Inland.

Warm sunny weather continues. Use increased caution when slopes and cornices warm up throughout the day.

Confidence

High - Confidence is due to a stable weather pattern; little change is expected for several days.

Weather Forecast

Another day of clear weather before a low pressure system brings cooling and clouds on Sunday.

FRIDAY NIGHT: Clear skies, light north wind, freezing level drops to 1000 m, alpine temperatures drop to -6 C.

SATURDAY: Sunny, light to moderate north wind, freezing level climbing to 1800 m in the afternoon, alpine high temperatures around -1 C.

SUNDAY: Increasing clouds throughout the day, moderate southwest wind, freezing level climbing to 1500 m in the afternoon, alpine high temperatures around -3 C.

MONDAY: Periods of snow with accumulations of 5-10 cm, moderate southwest wind, freezing level around 1200 m, alpine high temperatures around -5 C.

Avalanche Summary

Warm sunny weather over the past few days has resulted in wet loose avalanches on steep south-facing slopes across the region. Large glide slab releases have been reported around the Coquihalla.

Looking forward, daily warming will cause more wet loose avalanches and potentially weaken cornices. If you decide to travel in the backcountry, consider sharing your observations with us and fellow recreationists via the Mountain Information Network (MIN).

Snowpack Summary

Surface conditions are highly variable with a mix of crusts, moist snow, hard wind slabs, and soft faceted snow. The surface will become moist on sun-exposed slopes and at lower elevations throughout the day. Northern parts of the region (e.g.. Duffey/Hurley/Gold Bridge) have had a deep instability lingering at the base of the snowpack for most of the season. While this layer has gained strength over the past month (the last reported avalanche was on Feb 17), it is still worth considering when assessing shallow rocky slopes in this part of the region.

Terrain and Travel

  • Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.
  • Use caution on large alpine slopes, especially around thin areas that may propagate to deeper instabilities.

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.