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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 16th, 2023–Mar 17th, 2023

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 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

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

Avalanche activity may increase with mild weather and sunny periods.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Riders triggered numerous small (size 1 to 1.5) storm and wind slabs over the past few days within the recent storm snow, with some of them releasing on the surface hoar described in the Snowpack Summary. Most of them were at treeline to alpine elevations and they were 20 to 40 cm deep. Similar explosively controlled avalanches were reported.

Looking forward, the primary concern is the new snow that overlies surface hoar and/or hard interfaces. As the snow further settles and forms slabs, they will likely become touchy to human traffic. There's uncertainty on when exactly this will happen so travelling conservatively and making observations as you travel will be key. A warming trend with sunny skies could rapidly form slab properties within the storm snow.

Snowpack Summary

Steady light snowfall since Sunday has turned into about 30 to 40 cm of settled snow. This snow overlies large (10 to 20 mm), weak surface hoar crystals in shaded wind-sheltered terrain, wind affected snow in wind-exposed terrain, and a hard melt-freeze crust on sun-exposed slopes. Southwest wind is blowing the snow into deeper deposits in lee terrain features. Relatively mild weather and sunny skies may moisten the snow surface on sun-exposed slopes and at low elevations.

Another layer of surface hoar and/or weak faceted grains may be found about 60 cm deep, particularly on shaded aspects near treeline.

The remainder of the snowpack is consolidated and strong.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Partly cloudy with no precipitation, 20 km/h southeast wind, treeline temperature -4 °C.

Friday

Partly cloudy with no precipitation, 20 to 30 km/h south wind, treeline temperature -3 °C, freezing level 1000 m.

Saturday

Clear skies with no precipitation, 20 to 30 km/h southeast wind, treeline temperature -1 °C, freezing level 1400 m.

Sunday

Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 5 to 10 cm, 30 km/h south wind, treeline temperature -3 °C, freezing level 1000 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for changing conditions today, storm slabs may become increasingly reactive.
  • Be aware of the potential for larger than expected storm slabs due to the presence of buried surface hoar.
  • Minimize exposure to sun-exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong.
  • Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.

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.