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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 31st, 2014–Feb 1st, 2014

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

Regions

South Coast.

Confidence

Good

Weather Forecast

Overnight and Saturday: Clear and cold overnight with light Northerly winds and no precipitation. Mostly sunny with a chance of valley cloud in the morning. Mix of sun and cloud with a chance of very light precipitation in the evening. Light Westerly winds during the day and freezing levels at about 500 metres.Sunday: Mix of sun and cloud with a chance of very light precipitation. Light Northwest winds and freezing levels at about 500 metres.Monday: Mostly sunny with light Northeast winds and alpine temperatures dropping to about -20 C.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches reported. Expect some sloughing from steep terrain.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 30 cm of new snow has fallen in the past 48 hours on the Southern inland highway passes. This new snow is sitting on a hard melt-freeze crust that developed after the recent record warm alpine temperatures. Warm temperatures at the beginning of the storm have created a good bond between the new snow and the crust; the new snow dried out as temperatures dropped during the storm and created a "right side up" snowpack. Reports from the Coquihalla tell us that there was a narrow band of surface hoar on North aspects below treeline before the new snow arrived. Only about 10 cm has fallen in the North of the region where more widespread surface hoar and near surface facetting was found before the thin layer of cold dry snow arrived. There continues to be a concern for deeply buried layers of weak facetted crystals, this is mostly a concern on slopes with a shallow and variable snowpack in the Duffey Lake and Chilcotin areas.

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.

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.