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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 15th, 2024–Feb 16th, 2024

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.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

South Coast Inland, Birkenhead, Duffey, South Chilcotin, Stein, Taseko.

Beware of wind slabs in steep alpine terrain.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Reports from Wednesday suggest small (size 1) wind slabs were reactive on a variety of aspects in the alpine and upper treeline elevations. The slabs were 10 to 20 cm thick, with some failing on a buried surface hoar layer.

Snowpack Summary

Wind and sun have created variable surface conditions, with northeast wind heavily impacting open terrain.

15 to 30 cm of snow sits above a widespread crust. Many areas have reported a weak surface hoar layer above this crust, which could be problematic in areas where wind has formed a slab above the layer.

Snowpack depths decrease rapidly below treeline.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Clear skies. 30 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.

Friday

Sunny. 30 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Saturday

Mix of sun and cloud. 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Sunday

Cloudy with 2 to 4 cm of snow. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.