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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 23rd, 2022–Feb 24th, 2022

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

Recently formed wind slabs are expected to remain reactive to human-triggering. In eastern parts of the region which received more recent storm snow, a more widespread storm slab problem may exist.

Confidence

Low - Uncertainty is due to the limited number of field observations.

Weather Forecast

High pressure remains the dominant weather feature for the rest of the week. The next storm system is currently forecast to arrive on Saturday afternoon or evening. 

Wednesday Night: Mainly cloudy with a chance of light flurries, moderate to strong NW wind, treeline low around -8 °C.

Thursday: Mainly sunny, light N wind, treeline high around 0 °C.

Friday: Sunny, light SW-W wind, treeline high around +1 °C.

Saturday: Increasing cloud cover with light snow beginning in the late afternoon, moderate to strong SW wind, treeline high around 0 °C.

Avalanche Summary

On Tuesday, a ski cut triggered a size 1 wind slab in a cross-loaded terrain feature. A natural size 1 loose dry avalanche was also observed in a steep gully on a southwest aspect. 

Snowpack Summary

The weekend storm produced up to 25 cm of new snow for the North Shore Mountains and around 35-40 cm in the east of the region. Recent strong northly winds have redistributed this storm snow into reactive wind slabs in exposed terrain.

The mid-February crust is down around 25-50 cm and exists on all aspects and elevations. There is still a fair bit of uncertainty as to how the recent storm is bonding to this crust but an observation from the North Shore suggests that it is bonding well. 

The late-January melt-freeze crust is now down around 80 cm and seems to be well bonded to the surrounding snow. The middle and lower snowpack are considered well settled and strong.

Terrain and Travel

  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the crust.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.