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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 15th, 2013–Dec 16th, 2013

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

Regions

Sea To Sky.

Confidence

Fair - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

Monday: Light snowfall / Moderate westerly winds (with extreme gusts) / Freezing level at 800mTuesday: Light snowfall / Moderate southwesterly winds (with extreme gusts) / Freezing level at 800mWednesday: Possible clearing / Light winds / Freezing level at valley bottom

Avalanche Summary

No recent avalanches reported.

Snowpack Summary

Snowpack depths vary greatly across the region, but are significantly lower than average for this time of year. Terrain below treeline is still mostly below threshold for avalanche activity. Due to strong to extreme southwest winds on Sunday pockets of touchy windslab likely exist at upper elevations. Due to rising freezing levels, surfaces are reportedly moist below 1750m. Roughly 20-30cm of snow now overlies a variety of old surfaces which formed during the early December cold snap. These surfaces include: generally faceted surfaces (which may overlie a crust in some areas), spotty surface hoar in sheltered terrain and hard windslab on south-facing alpine terrain. Thin snowpack areas, particularly around rocks, are reported to be highly faceted.The lower snowpack is generally well consolidated.

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.