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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 28th, 2023–Mar 1st, 2023

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

Regions

Northwest Inland, Kispiox, Ningunsaw, South Bulkley, South Bulkley.

A storm arriving today will bring snow and wind.

Watch out for reactive storm slabs and use caution as you transition into wind-affected terrain.

Triggering a deep persistent slab remains possible, especially in areas with a thin snowpack.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Today's storm is expected to increase avalanche activity.

On Thursday a size 3 deep persistent slab avalanche occurred naturally near Kispiox. It was on a steep, alpine feature, failing near rocks at ridgecrest. On Wednesday at Hudson Bay Mountain, a size 2.5 deep persistent slab avalanche was triggered by a cornice fall. Several size 2-3 explosive-controlled deep persistent slab avalanches also occurred near Ningunsaw.

If you go into the backcountry this weekend, please consider submitting a MIN report.

Snowpack Summary

New snow today will be sitting on a variety of surfaces, primarily wind slabs. In sheltered areas, today's storm snow will be covering snow that fell this past weekend and that snow may be sitting on small facets found 40 to 50 cm down.

Several crusts, layers of facets, or surface hoar can be found in the top 150 cm of the snowpack. This mid-pack is generally showing good strength.

Throughout the region, much of the base of the snowpack consists of weak facets but is slowly gaining strength

The total height of snow at treeline is between 160 to 280 cm.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Increasing cloud, trace accumulation, winds west 30 km/h, treeline temperatures -12 ºC.

Wednesday

Cloudy, 15 to 25 cm accumulation starting in the early morning hours, winds southwest 35 km/h gusting to 70, treeline temperatures hovering around -12 ºC.

Thursday

Cloudy with possible late day sunny breaks, 10 to 15 cm accumulation arriving mostly by morning, winds 25 km/h gusting to 70, treeline temperatures -10 to -5 ºC.

Friday

A mix of sun and cloud, 2 cm accumulation, winds southwest 30 km/h, treeline temperatures -10 ºC.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for fresh storm slabs building throughout the day.
  • Be mindful that deep instabilities are still present and have produced recent large avalanches.
  • Avoid areas with a thin or variable snowpack.
  • If triggered, loose dry avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
  • Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.

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.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.