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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 18th, 2015–Jan 19th, 2015

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

Regions

Glacier.

New surface hoar layer buried with widespread distribution will keep us all on our toes. Conservative terrain choices will be necessary as snow continues to build on this layer.

Weather Forecast

Low off the coast of Alaska has brought in a Pacific front. Precipitation is expected to continue into this evening and ending tonight. Associated moderate to strong west winds with a rise in temperatures today. Light snow and unsettled skies as temperatures cool for Monday and Tuesday as a ridge of high pressure builds over the south of BC.

Snowpack Summary

10-15cm of new snow overnight. The widespread Jan 15 surface hoar layer is down 20-30cm, and it sits on a crust on solar aspects. The Dec 17 surface hoar layer is down 70-120cm. This layer is overtop a crust below 2100m. The Nov 9 crust is a basal layer at the bottom of the snowpack.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed yesterday.

Confidence

Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain

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.

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.