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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 24th, 2024–Feb 25th, 2024

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

Regions

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

Tricky conditions exist with buried weak layers. Expect wind slabs to form, adding load to a weak snowpack

Stick to conservative terrain and avoid large features at treeline and above

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Wind slabs continued to show reactivity to human triggers on Friday with up to size 1.5 reported.

Activity is expected to increase on Sunday as snow and wind develop fresh slabs over weak snow surfaces.

Snowpack Summary

By Sunday evening, up to 20 cm of new snow is expected. This new snow will fall over a crust on south facing slopes, or over settling snow that overlies previous weak surfaces of crusts, facets or wind affect.

Roughly 50-60 cm of snow now sits above a widespread crust from late January. Weak grains like facets or more isolated surface hoar may be found above this crust. This problematic layering remains a concern with recent avalanche activity and snowpack tests showing reactivity. As minimal snowfall is forecast this layer is not expected to produce natural avalanches, but human triggering remains very possible.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Cloudy with up to 5 cm of new snow expected. 30-40 km/h southwest winds. Freezing levels remain around 1500 m.

Sunday

Cloudy with 5-15 cm of new snow. 40-60 km/h southwest winds. Treeline temperature -3 °C with freezing levels steady around 1500 m.

Monday

Mostly cloudy with isolated flurries. 20-30 km/h southwest winds. Treeline temperatures drop to -12 °C with freezing levels at valley bottom.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy with possible sunny breaks. No snow is expected. 20-30 km/h southwest winds. Treeline temperatures around -12 °C with freezing levels at valley bottom.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Wind slabs are most reactive during their formation.
  • If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.

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.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.