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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 19th, 2019–Jan 20th, 2019

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
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 Coast Inland.

The recent snow has been redistributed with strong winds and may be touchy to human traffic. Travel conservatively, particularly if you notice slab properties or see signs of snow instability.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

SATURDAY NIGHT: Cloudy, light to moderate west winds, freezing level 600 m.SUNDAY: A mix of sun and clouds, light northeast winds, alpine temperature -6 C, freezing level 900 m.MONDAY: A mix of sun and clouds, light northwest winds, alpine temperature -8 C, freezing level 600 m.TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy, light to moderate southwest winds, alpine temperature -6 C, freezing level 700 m.

Avalanche Summary

Small to large (size 1 to 2) wind slabs were easily triggered by skiers near ridges on Saturday. The snow was failing within the recent storm snow, 20 to 30 cm deep.

Snowpack Summary

Around 15 to 20 cm of recent snow fell, with associated strong southwest winds that switched to northeast winds near Coquihalla. All this snow is falling onto a sun crust on southerly aspects, a temperature crust below around 1700 m on all aspects, and feathery surface hoar in areas sheltered by the wind at all elevation bands. The new snow may not bond well to these layers.Below this, the snowpack is generally well-settled. In sections of the region, for example in Manning Park, you may still find a weak layer of surface hoar buried about 60 to 100 cm in sheltered areas around treeline. This layer has not produced any recent avalanches but snowpack tests suggest that it still could (see here).

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.