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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 6th, 2024–Apr 9th, 2024

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Below Threshold.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Below Threshold.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Below Threshold.

Regions

Long Range Mountains, Corner Brook, Gros Morne, Northern Peninsula.

It's the end of the season, for our forecasts and for what remains of the snowpack...

Watch for overhanging cornices, and changing surface conditions on warm and sunny days.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported this week. Evidence of cornice failures was reported on Thursday. While they didn't trigger an avalanche on the slope below they are hazardous on their own.

Looking forward cornice falls remain possible, and wet avalanches are a concern on steep slopes on sunny and warm days like Sunday and Monday.

Snowpack Summary

The snowpack has continued to shrink from rain and mild temperatures. Some eastern faces in the Tablelands remain above threshold (for riding and avalanche activity). A weak crust likely sits at the surface with partially refrozen snow below. Weakened cornices sit above north and east facing terrain features. Check out the photos below from Friday.

Southern terrain including the Lewis Hills holds only bare rock or very minimal amounts of remaining snow, well below threshold for riding.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Mostly cloudy with 30 km/h northeast winds. Freezing levels drop to sea level. No precipitation expected.

Sunday

Sunny with 20-30 km/h northeast ridgetop winds. No precipitation expected. Freezing levels rise to 600 m. Alpine temperatures reach +2 C.

Monday

Sunny with increasing afternoon cloud. 20-30 km/h northwest ridgetop winds. No precipitation expected. Freezing levels rise to 500 m. Alpine temperatures reach +1 C.

Tuesday

Cloudy. 50 km/h northeast ridgetop winds. Up to 5 cm of snow possible. Freezing levels rise to 300 m. Alpine temperatures around -1 C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.
  • If it's deep enough to ride, it's deep enough to slide (avalanche).
  • A moist or wet snow surface, pinwheeling and natural avalanches are all indicators of a weakening snowpack.

Problems

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.

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.