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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 26th, 2023–Dec 27th, 2023

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

South Columbia, Shuswap, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Goat, Gold, North Okanagan, Whatshan.

Avoid wind-loaded areas and keep in mind that a weak layer of surface hoar is still buried within the range for large human-triggered avalanches.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Over the weekend, numerous skier-triggered wind slabs up to size 2 were reported in the alpine and treeline. Check out this MIN for an example. A skier-triggered size 2 persistent slab occurred in the Selkirks east of Revelstoke on a northeast aspect in the alpine on Saturday.

On Monday, solar input trigged a few size 1 to 2 natural storm slabs in southerly alpine terrain, suspected to be failing on a weak layer of surface hoar.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 10 cm of new snow overlies heavily wind-affected surfaces in the alpine and exposed areas at treeline from recent strong winds. Below treeline a new crust is on or near the surface.

The mid pack contains several layers of note; a layer of surface hoar and a crust down 20 to 50 cm, a significant crust from the early December rain event down around 60 cm and a layer of surface hoar down 60 to 100 cm.

The make up of the lower snowpack is variable throughout the region, in shallower snowpack areas, basal facets may exist

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Clearing. South alpine wind easing to 15 km/h. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level dropping to valley bottom.

Wednesday

Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries. South alpine wind 20 to 40 km/h. Treeline temperature rising to -1 C. Freezing level rising to 1500 m.

Thursday

Mainly cloudy with snowfall, up to 5 cm accumulation. South alpine wind 15 to 40 km/h. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 500 to 1500 m.

Friday

A mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries. South alpine wind 15 to 30 km/h. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 500 to 1000 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Stay off recently wind loaded slopes until they have had a chance to stabilize.
  • If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.
  • Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.

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.