Avalanche forecast

South Columbia

Feb 7 – 8, 2016Avalanche Canada
View on map
Archived · expired 11 years ago

Avalanche danger

Tue
Wed
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
Open full map

Highlights

Skyrocketing temperatures make avalanche forecasters nervous. Deeply buried weak layers could wake up, creating very large avalanches.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–3
    Very strong winds have created wind slabs and fragile cornices on a variety of slopes. These may be extra sensitive with warm temperatures and sunshine.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    3–5
    A deeply buried weak layer can still be triggered in some places, creating very large avalanches. Forecast warming may increase the sensitivity of this problem over the next few days.

Confidence

Moderate - Timing or intensity of solar radiation is uncertain on Monday

Weather Forecast

Bring out the flip flops! A strong ridge of high pressure is expected to bring mainly sunny skies (above valley cloud) with no precipitation for the next three days. A warm southerly flow causes the freezing level to rise as high as 3000 m by Tuesday. Alpine temperatures should be well above 0.For more details check out https://avalanche.ca/weather.

Avalanche Summary

A widespread cycle of size 1-2 avalanches was triggered naturally and by skiers and explosives on Saturday in response to new snow and very strong SW winds. During this cycle, only one persistent slab was reported. It was triggered by explosives near Revelstoke and failed on the early January layer. While the likelihood of triggering a persistent slab has gone down, the consequences remain high. Forecast warming may make the persistent slab easier to trigger again.

Snowpack Summary

Strong to extreme SW winds on Saturday created wind slabs and cornices in many areas. Wind slabs may be lingering lower in start zones than normal due to the high wind speed. In sheltered areas, 15-40 cm recent storm snow is settling, and in some places may still be reactive as a soft slab. A rain crust sits below this in parts of the Monashees. In the far south, a layer of surface hoar is buried about 50-80 cm down. Professionals are still monitoring the early January persistent weak layer, down 80-120 cm. During Saturday's avalanche cycle, there was only one reported persistent slab, triggered with explosives. Prior to that, more than a week has passed since the last report of a persistent slab. However, in specific locations, it still produces hard, sudden results in snowpack tests, and forecast warming could wake it up again.

Regions covered