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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 24th, 2022–Apr 25th, 2022

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

Lizard-Flathead.

Warm temperatures overnight may prevent a good re-freeze. Check for 'crust recovery' and be off slopes before they turn mushy or wet.

Confidence

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

Weather Forecast

SUNDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear with incoming cloud cover, Increasing 15-30 km/h west wind, alpine low temperature 0 C. Poor overnight re-freeze expected with freezing level hovering above 2300 m.

MONDAY: Cloudy with sunny breaks, southwest wind gusting to 60 km/h, alpine high temperature +6 C, freezing level spiking above 2500 m.

TUESDAY: Wet flurries, 5-15 cm. West wind gusting to 40 km/h, alpine high temperature +6 C. Poor overnight re-freeze expected but freezing level dropping below 1600 by the evening.

WEDNESDAY: Scattered flurries, 5-15 cm. West wind gusting to 60 km/h, alpine high temperature +6 C, daytime freezing level rising above 1900 m.

Avalanche Summary

A few loose wet avalanches occurred Friday from steep south-facing alpine slopes.

On Thursday, one report noted a rider-triggered avalanche in a steep, north-facing chute. The slab was 20 cm thick and reportedly ran a long distance. Otherwise a few small wet loose avalanches were observed.

Please consider posting your observations to the Mountain Information Network to supplement our data stream and help fellow recreationists.

Snowpack Summary

The snowpack has transitioned to spring-time conditions, with overnight crusts transitioning to moist snow during the day, and isolated and lingering winter-ish conditions at the highest shaded elevations. Overall the snowpack is strong, consisting of hard snow and various melt-freeze crusts. At ridge top, remember that cornices are large and looming.

With warm springtime temperatures, check for good overnight recovery - avoid slopes that do not get an overnight re-freeze.

Terrain and Travel

  • Make observations and assess conditions continually as you travel.
  • Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.
  • 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.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.