Avalanche forecast

Sea To Sky

Nov 26, 2018Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 8 years ago

Avalanche danger

Tue
Wed
Alpine
4 · High
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Dial back your terrain selection during the storm. Storm slabs will form rapidly where precipitation falls as snow rather than rain.

Avalanche problems

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Very Likely - Certain
    Size
    1–2
    Touchy storm slabs are expected to form rapidly at high elevations that see heavy snowfall instead of heavy rain. Strong winds will speed slab formation in the lee of wind-exposed terrain features.

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Very Likely - Certain
    Size
    1–1.5
    Heavy rain is set to saturate the snowpack at lower elevations and promote active loose wet avalanche conditions on Monday.

Confidence

Moderate - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain

Weather Forecast

Sunday night: Wet flurries bringing 10-15 cm of new snow mainly to alpine elevations. Moderate to strong south winds.Monday: Mainly heavy rain with possible accumulations of up to 40 cm of new snow above 1800 metres. Strong to extreme south winds. Alpine high temperatures around 0 with freezing levels to 2200 metres or higher.Tuesday: Heavy rain transitioning to snowfall over the day with possible accumulations of up to 25 cm of new snow, primarily in the alpine. Moderate southwest winds. Alpine high temperatures of 0 to -1 with freezing levels declining from around 2100 to 1800 metres over the day.Wednesday: Cloudy with flurries bringing about 10 cm of new snow. Light southwest winds. Alpine high temperatures around -3 with freezing levels around 1400 metres.

Avalanche Summary

Small natural and skier-triggered storm slab avalanches were observed out of steep, wind-loaded terrain at alpine elevations in the Whistler area on Friday and Saturday. The incoming storm is expected to build another round fresh storm slabs above the rain line on Monday.Please submit any observations you have to the Mountain Information Network here,

Snowpack Summary

The deepest snow is found at alpine elevations, with depths of around 60-100 cm. Approximately 30 cm of newer snow now lies above older wind slabs that formed with strong southerly winds on Wednesday. Below this lies a thin crust, now buried around 50 cm. A thicker lower crust, that may be associated with weak faceted crystals in some places lies close to the ground. This is most likely to cause problems in glaciated terrain or on smoother, high elevation slopes where the summer snow did not melt out.

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