Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 6th, 2023–Apr 7th, 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 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 and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Regions

West Island.

Keep decision making conservative during this break in the storm. Head to low angle terrain, free from overhead avalanche hazard.

Heavy snow, rain and wind have hammered the snowpack. Watch for signs of instability as you travel.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Widespread natural avalanche activity is expected to have occurred throughout Thursday and Thursday night as snow, wind and rain hammer the snowpack.

Snowpack Summary

Above 1200m, large accumulations of storm snow can be found, redistributed into large, deep deposits on north facing terrain features by strong southerly winds.

Storm snow has fallen over up to 40 cm of settling snow at high elevations. Heavy rain (or wet snow) has likely saturated the snow surface and lower elevations. As freezing levels fall on Friday this may freeze into a hard crust.

The middle and lower snowpack are strong and well-bonded.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Heavy precipitation continues with up to 80 cm possible. Freezing levels remain around 1500 m overnight. Strong to extreme southerly winds.

Friday

Snow/rain eases early morning. Skies remain cloudy with up to 5cm possible in isolated areas. Moderate southwest winds. Freezing levels around 1000 m.

Saturday

Snow returns, 40 cm possible for the west coast. Strong southwest winds. Freezing levels around 1000 m.

Sunday

Heavy snow continues. Strong to extreme southerly winds. Freezing levels rise towards 1500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Don't be too cavalier with decision making, storm slabs may remain sensitive to human triggering.
  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.

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.