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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 18th, 2022–Dec 19th, 2022

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

Coquihalla, Harrison-Fraser, Manning, Skagit.

Windslabs forming during the current cold, Northerly winds may take longer than usual to stabilize. Expect things to be especially reactive where new slab formation has occurred over surface hoar crystals and/or crusts.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A few small wind slab releases have been reported over the weekend through the MIN. It appears the new, wind affected snow is not bonding very well to underlying hard surfaces.

If you head out into the mountains, please share your photos or observations on the Mountain Information Network. Your information helps us understand local conditions!

Snowpack Summary

Surface: Up to 20cm of recent snow continues to be redistributed by Northeasterly winds.

Upper snowpack: New snow has buried various wind-affected surfaces in the alpine. In sheltered terrain at lower elevations, the new snow overlays large surface hoar and a sun crust on solar aspects.

Mid snowpack: Generally bonding and well-settled.

Lower snowpack: Consists of numerous crusts and facets layers. A layer of note, buried in late November continues to show isolated reactivity in test profiles.

Snowpack depth at treeline is around 200 cm deep but decreases rapidly below 1500 m.

Weather Summary

Cold arctic air dominates the weather throughout BC this week. High uncertainty remains over the snowfall likelihood and amounts on Tuesday.

Sunday night

Mostly cloudy with isolated flurries. Trace amounts of snow. Temperatures -20 to -25 C and light to moderate Northeast winds in the alpine.

Monday

Mostly cloudy with a chance of flurries. Temperatures -15 to -20 C and generally light Northeasterly wind in the alpine.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy with a chance of snow, up to 10 cm. Temperatures -15 to -20 C and generally light Northeasterly wind in the alpine.

Wednesday

Mostly sunny, with no precipitation. Temperatures -20 to -25 C and light East winds in the alpine.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Wind slabs are most reactive during their formation.
  • Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.

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.