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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 10th, 2015–Apr 11th, 2015

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

Regions

Northwest Inland.

Check out the Northwest Coast bulletin for information on the touchy persistent slab problem, which may also be present in parts of the inland region.If you'd like to share your observations, here, we'd love to have the input !

Confidence

Fair - Due to the number and quality of field observations

Weather Forecast

Light snow today, with the freezing level near 1200 m. Winds strong from the South West. SATURDAY: Cloudy with flurries. The freezing level will come down to 500m overnight, and rise to near 1000 m during the day. Forecast winds winds moderate from the SW.SUNDAY: Cloudy with flurries, freezing levels between 500 and 100m, winds moderate to strong from the South WestMONDAY: Much the same as the previous two days, but the freezing level may climb to 1500m during the day.

Avalanche Summary

In the past week, loose wet avalanches to size  2 were reported to have triggered slabs up to size 2.5, possibly releasing on the March 25th surface crust/ surface hoar layer. No reports of avalanches from yesterday, but one commercial operator reports that strong winds are stripping new snow down to the old crust surface and depositing it on lee slopes as windslabs.

Snowpack Summary

Moderate to strong winds are now scouring windward slopes and loading lee features. A crust with surface hoar buried on March 25th is still considered a potential problem in parts of the forecast region and has been most reactive, recently, in the north part of the region.This may come back to life with the new snow and wind loading.  Cornices are now large and may collapse with increased load from the storm.

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.