Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 6th, 2012–Feb 7th, 2012

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Northwest Inland.

Confidence

Good - -1

Weather Forecast

Tuesday: Mainly sunny with no precipitation. Light winds. Freezing level around 700m during the day and valley floor at night. Wednesday: Some scattered flurries are possible as a weak system approaches the coast. Light southerly winds. Freezing level rising to around 1000m. Thursday: Light precipitation associated with a frontal band. 5-10mm through the day. Light to moderate south-west winds. Freezing level rising to around 1500m.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported.

Snowpack Summary

Temperatures have been unseasonably warm, leading to moist surface snow on sunny aspects which can become unstable during the heat of the day. Where a re-freeze has occurred, a crust now exists. Recent storm snow appears to bonding well. A facet layer which formed in mid-January has gained strength. It showed hard, resistant planar results in a compression test at treeline in the Hankin area on Sunday.

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.