Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 24th, 2023–Apr 25th, 2023

Alpine

Below Threshold.

Treeline

Below Threshold.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Alpine

Below Threshold.

Treeline

Below Threshold.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Alpine

Below Threshold.

Treeline

Below Threshold.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Regions

Chic-Choc Mountains, Littoral, Murdochville.

It's springtime and time to hit the more challenging runs. As we are in a night freeze and day thaw cycle, be sure to plan your outings carefully to get the best quality snow possible. North alpine slopes can remain very firm much later in the day. Drag your crampons and ice axes and watch out for uncontrolled slips.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanche has been observed or reported.

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Snowpack Summary

A cycle of nighttime freezing and daytime thawing is taking shape for the next few days, bringing the much appreciated corn snow conditions under the afternoon sun. The northern Alpine slopes may remain firm despite the warming. At the foot of the mountains, in the absence of overnight refreezing, the heat and intense solar radiation will continue to rapidly transform the snow to fill it with water and continue the accelerated melting of the snowpack. More and more areas are now without snow cover, mainly at and below the treeline where conditions are quite minimal.Snowpack heights range from 0 cm (valley) to 95 cm (mid-mountain).

Weather Summary

Forecast for the Chic-Chocs ridges and summits.

Synopsis: A ridge of high pressure over the area will keep the weather clear until midweek. Monday evening and night: Clear, winds southeast 10 to 20 km/h, low -2 C, freezing level at 400 m. Tuesday: Sunny, winds from southeast 15 to 30 km/h, maximum +4 C, freezing level at 1900 m.Wednesday: Alternating sun and clouds, light southerly winds, maximum +5 C, freezing level at 1500 m.Thursday: Clearing, light easterly winds, maximum +3 C, freezing level at 1400 m. For more details, see the Chic-Chocs alpine forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Caution around slopes that are exposed to cornices overhead.
As surface loses cohesion due to melting, loose wet avalanches become common in steeper terrain.
The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.
Rocks will heat up with daytime warming and may become trigger points for loose wet avalanches

Problems

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.

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.