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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 8th, 2014–Apr 9th, 2014

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

Regions

Sea To Sky.

How does warming and solar radiation influence the snowpack? How do I manage cornice problems? Check out the new Forecaster Blog.

Confidence

Fair - Timing or intensity of solar radiation is uncertain on Wednesday

Weather Forecast

An upper level ridge will keep the region fairly dry with a mix of sun and cloud through the forecast period. Wednesday/ Thursday: Mainly cloudy with some sunny periods and isolated flurries. Ridgetop winds light-moderate from the west. Freezing levels near 1300 m. Friday: Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries. Ridgetop winds light from the West. Freezing levels rising  to 1600 m.

Avalanche Summary

On Monday, a natural cornice release size 3 entrained recent storm snow and ran for approx. 1300m. Natural wind and storm slab avalanches up to size 2 occurred  in isolated areas and numerous size 1 loose wet avalanches were observed at lower elevations.

Snowpack Summary

10-20 cm of moist surface snow sits on top of 20 cm of dryer snow which fell before the weekend. Isolated wind slabs currently have a poor bond (especially on slopes with a buried crust) over a medley of old snow surfaces including surface hoar, facets and melt freeze crusts. Large sagging cornices are looming over slopes and pose a threat if they fail.Recent warm temperatures have helped to settle and strengthen the upper snowpack and tests are producing hard resistant planar shears on the late March crust. Below 1800 m a melt-freeze snowpack exists.Persistent weak layers exist lower in the snowpack. The mid-March surface hoar/ crust interface now down 80 -110 cm. The early-March crust/facet layer is down about 100-150 cm and the early February layer is now down close to 200 cm. These layers are largely dormant at this time; however, they should remain on your radar. Larger triggers like cornice fall may be significant enough to activate these deeper layers.

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.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.