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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 13th, 2023–Apr 14th, 2023

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

Lizard-Flathead, Akamina, Flathead, Lizard, Moyie.

Observe your local conditions, and let that guide your terrain choice. Dynamic spring weather means that avalanche danger could change quickly.

Avoid steep slopes that are getting baked in the sun.

If you are the benefactor of a sneaky, convective snowstorm, scale back your objectives for the day, and play in mellower terrain while the storm snow has a chance to stabilize.

Confidence

Low

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were reported before 4pm on Thursday.

On Monday and Tuesday, in the Fernie area. Warming and rain induced a widespread, naturally triggered, loose wet avalanche cycle. This included several large (size 2-2.5), avalanches and one large (size 2.5) glide slab.

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

5-10 cm of dry snow overlies moist snow on shaded (northerly) aspects in the alpine and at treeline. Moist surfaces on solar aspects, and on all aspects below treeline.

Earlier in the week, 20-30 mm (more around Fernie) of precipitation fell, mostly in the form of rain.

The mid-snowpack is generally well-settled and strong.

At treeline and below, shallow snowpack areas are likely to be isothermal, and the snowpack is shrinking.

The lower snowpack includes a layer of weak sugary crystals near the ground. This layer has not produced recent avalanche activity in this area, but professionals continue to monitor for signs of it becoming active.

Weather Summary

Unsettled and convective weather could bring brief but intense periods of snowfall. Pinpointing these localized events creates a high level of uncertainty with this weather forecast. Prepare to continually evaluate the conditions, and change plans as necessary.

Thursday Night

Mostly cloudy.1-5 cm of snow expected. Isolated areas of 10-15 cm or more. Treeline low around -6°C. Light southwest ridgetop wind.

Friday

Mix of sun and cloud. 0-2 cm of snow expected. Freezing level rising to 1750m. Treeline high of -3°C. Light southwest ridgetop wind.

Saturday

Mostly sunny. No new snow expected. Freezing level at valley bottom overnight rising to 2100 m. Light southwest ridgetop wind.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy. Light to moderate snow/rain expected. Light southwest ridgetop wind. Snow/rain line around 1500 m overnight, rising to 2100 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be alert to conditions that change with aspect and elevation.
  • Be alert to conditions that change throughout the day.
  • Watch for unstable snow on specific terrain features, especially when the snow is moist or wet.
  • The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.

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.

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.