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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 20th, 2024–Feb 21st, 2024

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.
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.

Use caution in wind effected terrain, wind slab over facets, surface hoar or a crust remains the primary concern.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Check out this MIN with some recent avalanche observations.

Over the past week we have seen a pattern of human and remotely triggered size 1 to 1.5 wind slab avalanches with a few being up to size 2.  These avalanches have generally failed  on a combination of facets, surface hoar and a crust.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 10 cm of new snow could accumulate over a variety of surfaces including; a crust on south aspects and all aspects at lower elevation, Surface hoar in sheltered features and previously wind effected surfaces in exposed terrain.

Old wind slabs that formed over facets, a crust or surface hoar can still be found on south and west aspects.

15 to 40 cm of snow sits above a widespread crust from late January. Surface hoar may be found above this crust.

Snowpack depths decrease rapidly below treeline.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Mostly cloudy with around 5 cm of new snow expected. 10 to 25 km/h south alpine wind. Treeline temperature -2°C.

Wednesday

Clearing sky throughout the day with up to 5 cm of new snow expected  in the morning. 10 to 25 km/h southeast alpine wind. Freezing level rising to 1700 m.

Thursday

A mix of sun and cloud with trace amounts of new snow expected in the morning. 5 to 15 km/h southeast alpine wind. Freezing level rising to 1500 m.

Friday

A mix of sun and cloud with trace amounts of new snow possible. 30 to 50 km/h southwest alpine wind. Treeline temperature -2°C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Use ridges or ribs to avoid areas of wind loaded snow.
  • Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
  • Surface hoar distribution is highly variable. Avoid generalizing your observations.

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.