Avalanche forecast

South Coast Inland

Jan 20, 2019Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 8 years ago

Avalanche danger

Mon
Tue
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

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.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–2
    The recent storm snow may not bond well to underlying layers. Treating this snow with caution is advised. The touchiest snow may be in lee and cross-loaded terrain features, as the snow fell with strong winds.

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).

Regions covered