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

Mar 20th, 2023–Mar 21st, 2023

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
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, Sasquatch, Sasquatch, Sky Pilot, Tetrahedron.

The upper snowpack continues to adjust to recent warm, sunny weather - watch for surface snow turning wet and be wary of cornices.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

We suspect that there have been several naturally triggered, loose-wet avalanches in steep, solar-facing terrain, over the weekend.

If you head out in the backcountry, let us know what you are seeing by submitting a report to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

Warm temperatures and solar radiation continue to produce moist snow surfaces on all but high-elevation northerly terrain. As temperatures drop overnight a surface crust will form.

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

Weather Summary

Monday night

Mostly cloudy with isolated flurries/rain. Treeline temperatures around 0 C. Light east ridgetop winds. Freezing level 1400 m.

Tuesday

Mostly sunny. Treeline temperatures 0 to 5 C. Moderate east ridgetop winds. Freezing levels 1900 m.

Wednesday

Sunny. Treeline temperatures 0 to 5 C. Very light ridgetop winds. Freezing levels 1900 m.

Thursday

Cloudy with flurries, 5 to 10 cm. Treeline temperature around 0 C. Light to moderate south ridgetop winds. Freezing level 1500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • As surface loses cohesion due to melting, loose wet avalanches become common in steeper terrain.
  • Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.

Problems

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.