Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 13th, 2024–Mar 14th, 2024

Alpine

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Treeline

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Alpine

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Treeline

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Alpine

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Treeline

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Regions

South Coast, Garibaldi, Powell River, Tantalus, North Shore, Sasquatch, Sasquatch, Sky Pilot, Tetrahedron, Harrison-Fraser.

Sudden warming and sun will cause a natural avalanche cycle on Thursday. Avoid avalanche terrain.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Over the past few days there have been several small (size 1) storm slab and wet loose avalanches.

Looking forward, warming will cause large wet loose, cornice, and slab avalanches.

Snowpack Summary

Sudden warming on Thursday will cause moist surfaces on all but the highest north-facing terrain.

Roughly 30 to 50 cm of storm snow from the past few days has been settling, and may still be poorly bonded in higher elevations that have stayed cooler over the past few days.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Clearing skies. 25 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C.

Thursday

Mostly sunny. 25 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +5 °C with freezing level climbing to 3000 m by midday.

Friday

Mostly sunny. 15 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +10 °C with freezing level climbing to 3500 m.

Saturday

Sunny. 40 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +14 °C with freezing level sustained at 3500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Avoid all avalanche terrain during periods of intense solar radiation.
Avoid areas with overhead hazard, especially solar aspects.
Cornices become weak with daytime heating or solar exposure.
Only the most simple non-avalanche terrain free of overhead hazard is appropriate at this time.

Problems

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.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.

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.