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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 1st, 2023–Feb 2nd, 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 and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Regions

Northwest Coastal, Kitimat, Nass, Rupert, Seven Sisters, Shames, Stewart, Howson, Ningunsaw.

Storm Slab will develop as the week progresses. Monitor closely the bond between the storm snow and the layer it sits on and be particularly cautious in wind loaded features.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A few small wind slab avalanches were reported across the region on Tuesday.

Larger avalanches on more deeply buried persistent week layers were reported late last week during a warm spell.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 30cm of new snow overlays various wind-affected surfaces in alpine terrain and widespread, supportive, melt-freeze crusts at lower elevations (roughly 1900 m and below). Much of this new snow is being blown into wind slab by southwest winds.

The mid and lower snowpack continues to bond and stabilize while a number of buried weak layers remain a concern and have produced a number of large recent avalanches.

Weather Summary

Wednesday nightCloudy. 10-15 cm of new snow. Wind from the south at 20 km/h. Temperature -2 C.

Thursday

Cloudy. 10 cm of new snow. Wind from the south at 20 km/h. Temperature -2 C.

Friday

Cloudy. 10 cm of new snow. Wind from the south at 20 km/h. Temperature up to 0 C in the alpine with freezing levels to 800 m.

Saturday

Cloudy. 5 cm of new snow. Wind from the south at 15 km/h. Temperature up to 0 C with freezing levels coming up to 1000 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.
  • This avalanche problem is difficult to trigger but if so, consequences are serious.

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.

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.