Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 2nd, 2019–Feb 3rd, 2019

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

Regions

Cariboos.

The storm and associated natural avalanches have tapered off to some degree, but give the snowpack some time to adjust to recent loading. Choose conservative terrain.

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

SATURDAY NIGHT - Mainly cloudy with clear periods / northeast winds, 10-15 km/h / alpine low temperature near -30SUNDAY - Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries / northeast winds 10-15 km/h / alpine high temperature near -25MONDAY - A mix of sun and cloud / northeast winds 10-15 km/h / alpine high temperature near -18TUESDAY - Mainly sunny / northwest winds, 10-15 km/h / alpine high temperature near -13

Avalanche Summary

Field observations were limited on Friday, but it is likely that a natural avalanche cycle was occurring throughout the day. There were reports of a few human triggered avalanches to size 2 occurring at treeline and below on Friday. Some of these were remote triggered (triggered from a distance), and failed on a persistent weak layer of surface hoar that was buried in mid January.There are two great MIN reports that outline how reactive the mid January persistent weak layer was on Friday. They can be found here and here.

Snowpack Summary

20-45 cm of snow has fallen in the Cariboos since Thursday. This new snow is sitting on wind slab, surface hoar (feathery crystals), facets (sugary snow) and a crust on sun-exposed slopes. 30-60 cm of snow now sits on a persistent weak layer that was buried in mid January. This layer consists of surface hoar and a crust on sun-exposed slopes. It is most prominent at treeline and below, and was very reactive during the recent storm. It remains to be seen how this layer will behave as temperatures drop. It may still be reactive to human triggers.

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.