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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 18th, 2024–Jan 19th, 2024

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

Regions

South Coast, Powell River, Tantalus, North Shore, Sky Pilot, Tetrahedron.

Dangerous avalanche conditions exist due to heavy snow and rain.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No recent avalanche activity has been reported.

However, we anticipate a widespread avalanche cycle to take place Thursday night, into Friday during stormy weather conditions.

Snowpack Summary

New snow continues to accumulate over a variety of wind-affected surfaces, faceted crystals, and surface hoar, all of which could prolong the bonding time between new snow and buried surfaces.

Continued snow or rain and warming temperatures will likely result in an upside-down upper snowpack by the end of the day on Friday.

The mid and lower snowpack is generally settled and well-bonded.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Cloudy with 10 to 20 cm of snow, south alpine winds 30 to 50 km/h, treeline temperature -2 °C.

Friday

Cloudy with 20 to 40 mm of rain at lower elevations and wet snow at higher elevations, south alpine winds 30 to 50 km/h, treeline temperature +2 °C. Freezing levels around 2000 m.

Saturday

Cloudy with trace amounts of rain or wet snow, southwest alpine winds 20 to 40 km/h, treeline temperature +4 °C. Freezing levels around 2200 m.

Sunday

Cloudy with trace amounts of rain or wet snow, south alpine winds 30 to 50 km/h, treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing levels around 1500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid all avalanche terrain during periods of heavy loading from new snow, wind, or rain.
  • Watch for rapidly changing conditions during periods of heavy loading from new snow, wind, or rain.
  • Storm slab size and sensitivity to triggering will likely increase through the day.

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.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.