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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 13th, 2013–Dec 14th, 2013

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

Regions

Kootenay Boundary.

Confidence

Fair - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

Saturday: Light snowfall / Moderate to strong southwest winds / Freezing level at 1300mSunday: Light snowfall / Moderate west winds / Freezing level at 1600mMonday: Light snowfall / Moderate southwest winds / Freezing level at 1100m

Avalanche Summary

No avalanches have been reported in the last few days.

Snowpack Summary

Dribs and drabs of recent snowfall now overlie generally faceted surfaces that formed during the recent cold snap. At the same buried interface you may find small surface hoar on sheltered slopes or older hard windslabs in exposed high elevation terrain. Between 35 and 60cm below the surface you may find a weak layer of surface hoar on sheltered north facing slopes and a crust on steep solar aspects. In some areas the overlying snowpack has not yet settled into a cohesive slab required for slab avalanche activity. This may change with warming forecast for the weekend.There are reports of a deeply buried early season crust that formed in October, this layer is more likely to be found in the high alpine on northerly aspects. Little is known about its reactivity in this region.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.