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Avalanche Forecast

Jan 4th, 2017–Jan 5th, 2017
Alpine
1: Low
The avalanche danger rating in the alpine will be low
Treeline
1: Low
The avalanche danger rating at treeline will be low
Below Treeline
1: Low
The avalanche danger rating below treeline will be low
Alpine
1: Low
The avalanche danger rating in the alpine will be low
Treeline
1: Low
The avalanche danger rating at treeline will be low
Below Treeline
1: Low
The avalanche danger rating below treeline will be low
Alpine
2: Moderate
The avalanche danger rating in the alpine will be moderate
Treeline
1: Low
The avalanche danger rating at treeline will be low
Below Treeline
1: Low
The avalanche danger rating below treeline will be low

Regions: South Coast.

Stability has improved on the South Coast, but avoid testing any unsupported wind slabs.

Confidence

High - The weather pattern is stable

Weather Forecast

Thursday: Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries bringing a trace of new snow. Winds light from the southwest. Freezing level near valley bottom with alpine temperatures to -5.Friday: Cloudy with scattered flurries and up to 5 cm of new snow. Winds moderate from the south. Freezing level rising to 500 metres with alpine temperatures to -4.Saturday: Mainly cloudy with scattered flurries and up to 4cm of new snow. Winds light to moderate from the southeast.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been observed, but ski cutting in the North Shore mountains on January 1 produced one size 1 wind slab avalanche 10 metres wide and 20 cm deep. Shooting cracks were propagating up to 2 metres ahead of ski tips on wind loaded features, suggesting touchy conditions at the time. While we normally expect a short life span these kinds of storm instabilities on the South Coast, recent cold temperatures may have slowed the strengthening process somewhat.

Snowpack Summary

Approximately 95 cm of well-settled storm snow lies on the surface after a series of storms last week. In the days following the storms, strong northerly winds redistributed loose storm snow into wind slabs behind exposed terrain features, mainly on south to west aspects. These wind slabs have gained considerable strength in recent days but remain a concern over the short term. Aside from possible wind slab instabilities in the upper snowpack, the mid and lower snowpack are considered to be well settled and stable.

Avalanche Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind slabs are still lingering on south to west-facing features that were exposed to recent winds. Steep, unsupported pockets of wind slab may remain reactive to human triggering - especially if they're in the sun.
Use ridges or ribs to avoid pockets of wind loaded snow.Minimize exposure to sun exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong.

Aspects: North, North East, East, South East.

Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.

Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible

Expected Size: 1 - 2