Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 4th, 2023–Dec 5th, 2023

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

Clearwater, South Okanagan, Shuswap, North Okanagan.

Warm air and rain may form a slab above a weak layer that could be touchy to riders.

Confidence

Low

Avalanche Summary

We haven't received any reports of avalanche activity in this region. Activity may increase with Monday night's stormy weather.

Snowpack Summary

Light snow will switch to rain Monday night, wetting the snow surface. Rain could rapidly destabilize the 10 to 20 cm of recent snow that overlies a widespread weak layer of feathery surface hoar.

The middle and base of the snowpack is generally weak and faceted.

Snowpack depths at treeline are approximately 50 to 70 cm. The snowpack tapers drastically with elevation below treeline.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

Cloudy with 2 to 5 cm of snow switching to light rain below 2500 m. Southwest alpine wind 40 km/h. Treeline temperature 0 °C.

Tuesday

Cloudy with trace snow or rain. Southwest alpine wind 20 to 40 km/h. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level dropping from 2500 m to 2000 m.

Wednesday

Cloudy with 2 to 5 cm of snow. South alpine wind 10 to 20 km/h. Treeline temperature -1 °C.

Thursday

Partly cloudy with trace snow. Northwest alpine wind 10 to 20 km/h. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the old surface.
  • Be aware of the potential for larger than expected storm slabs due to the presence of buried surface hoar.
  • Extra caution for areas experiencing rapidly warming temperatures for the first time.
  • Watch for rapidly changing conditions during periods of heavy loading from new snow, wind, or rain.

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.