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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 25th, 2023–Feb 26th, 2023

Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Vancouver Island, East Island, North Island, South Island, West Island.

New low density snow has arrived in our forecast region and will increase the avalanche hazard.

Watch for reactive slabs as you travel through the terrain, especially in areas exposed to the wind.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Wednesday, our field team reported a size 2 natural storm slab avalanche and a size 1.5 wind slab avalanche in the northern part of the island. Incoming snow and winds could produce reactive slabs such as these this weekend

Thank you to all who contribute to the Mountain Information Network. If you head to the backcountry please help out your community by sharing your experiences.

Snowpack Summary

The current storm is excepted to bring another 25 cm of low density snow and this will combine with the 20 to 30 cm that fell earlier this week. Variable winds have and will continue to redistribute this snow so expect to find wind slabs on all aspects.

A crust that formed at the start of this past week can be found 35 to 45 cm down in sheltered areas. This crust is widespread and is expected to exist all the way to mountaintops. In exposed areas, the wind has either covered this crust with a wind slab or has completely scoured the snow off of it. Snow that covered the crust as it was forming is bonding well, this may not be the case for new snow that covers it going forward.

The lower snowpack contains a number of crusts but they are not a factor at the moment. It is consolidated and well-settled.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Cloudy, up to 20 cm accumulation, less in the central-eastern sections, winds southwest 35 km/h gusting to 70, treeline temperatures -5 ºC.

Sunday

Clear in the am becoming cloudy, 15 to 25 cm accumulation by morning, winds west 20 km/h gusting to 50, treeline temperatures -5 ºC.

Monday

Cloudy, up to 15 cm accumulation, winds southeast 20 to 40 km/h, treeline temperatures -7 ºC.

Tuesday

Clear, no new accumulation, winds northwest 10 km/h gusting to 20, treeline temperatures -5 ºC.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for fresh storm slabs building throughout the day.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the crust.
  • Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.

Problems

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.

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.