Avalanche forecast

Northwest Inland

Jan 16 – 18, 2012Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 15 years ago

Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–4
    Winds out of the N -E will likely form fresh sensitive wind slabs in unusual locations. Watch for signs of wind loading; snow blowing off peaks, fat pillow like formations and snow that feels stiff under your skis or machine.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    2–6
    Persistent slabs are getting harder to trigger but still exist in many locations.

Confidence

Fair - Wind speed or direction are uncertain

Weather Forecast

The region is firmly in the grips of an Arctic Air mass. It looks like this pattern will persist through at least Thursday. Tomorrow looks very similar to today. Brutally cold temperatures: At 1500 m expect a high of -24 and low of -31. Winds will be blowing at moderate to strong values out of the E, NE at all elevations. Bundle up!

Avalanche Summary

There have been no recent avalanches observations reported from the region.

Snowpack Summary

The region received heavy rain last weekend creating a stout crust up to about 1000m. Moving up in elevation, that precipitation turned to snow. Winds wreaked havoc on the new snow in wind exposed areas. Those old wind slabs have mostly settled out now. The region has received a few small shots of snow in the last 4 days, and that snow is reportedly bonding well to the old snow surface. The snowpack is highly variable in the region as strong winds have accompanied most of the storms. Looking around you can see the evidence of the big winds; some ridges are scoured down to bare rock, others have fat wind pillows on them. Looks like this side of the mountains was out of the wind zone Monday.

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