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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 4th, 2020–Jan 5th, 2020

Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Regions

Glacier.

Warming temperatures, moderate to strong SW winds and additional snow load have pushed us into high avalanche danger. 

Weather Forecast

Today, ridge winds South through West at 50-70km/h and an alpine high of -8C. Flurries, accumulating to 6cm and freezing level rising to 1000m. Flurries with moderate to strong SW wind are forecast to continue through Sunday and Monday with potential for another 25cm by Monday afternoon.

Snowpack Summary

50-70cm of storm snow now sits on the Dec 27th surface hoar. Strong S-SW winds are redistributing the storm snow to alpine lees and in exposed areas at treeline. The mid and lower snowpack has been settling and gaining strength but the Dec 11th surface hoar (5-12mm) still persists down 120-160cm.

Avalanche Summary

Numerous avalanches up to size 3.5 recorded in the highway corridor. Suspect a natural avalanche cycle is occurring in the backcountry.

Confidence

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.