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

Nov 22nd, 2024–Nov 23rd, 2024

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

Regions

Sea To Sky, South Coast Inland, Brandywine, Homathko, Spearhead, Birkenhead, Duffey, Harrison-Fraser, South Chilcotin, Stein, Taseko.

Avalanche danger is elevated from all the recent storms. Travel cautiously and keep your eyes open for signs of instability.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Explosives triggered many large (up to size 3) storm slabs on Wednesday and Thursday, mostly in alpine terrain on westerly and northerly slopes. It remains possible that riders could trigger similar avalanches on the weekend as recent storm snow and incoming snow continue to bond to the snowpack.

Watch out for early-season hazards like creeks, logs, and rocks, particularly at lower elevations.

Snowpack Summary

Intense snow and strong wind from earlier this week have formed widespread storm slabs as well as wind slabs in lee terrain features. More snow and wind on Friday night will likely form new slabs.

Various melt-freeze crusts are found in the lower half of the snowpack, which are not concerning avalanche layers.

The snowpack is around 120 to 150 cm at treeline and decreases at low elevations.

Weather Summary

Friday Night

Cloudy with 10 to 20 cm of snow, while some local amounts may be much less to the east of the region. 10 to 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Saturday

Cloudy with 2 to 10 cm of snow. 10 to 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy with 0 to 5 cm of snow. 0 to 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Monday

Mix of sun and cloud. 0 to 20 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Storm slab size and sensitivity to triggering will likely increase through the day.
  • Start with conservative terrain and watch for signs of instability.

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.