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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 23rd, 2022–Dec 24th, 2022

Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
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 avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Regions

Sea To Sky, Brandywine, Garibaldi, Homathko, Powell River, Spearhead, Tantalus, Tetrahedron.

Snowfall intensities Saturday morning could produce rates of over 6 cm snowfall per hour! With heavy snowfall and strong wind, expect storm slabs to build in size and sensitivity through the day.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Friday explosives control work trigger size 1-2 slab avalanches up to 20 cm deep.

Please continue to post your observations and photos to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

A fresh 10-15 cm snow accumulated Friday morning and buried a layer of weak, sugary, unconsolidated snow produced by the recent cold weather.

A number of layers persist deeper in the snowpack, consisting of facets, surface hoar, and crusts.

Total snow depths are roughly 90-140 cm at treeline and up to 200 cm in the alpine.

Weather Summary

Friday night

Snow, 15-25 cm overnight. Alpine temperatures rise to -4 C by morning. Southwest wind 25-45 km/hr. Freezing level rising to 900 m.

Saturday

Heavy precipitation, strong winds, and rising freezing levels are forecast throughout the day. Expect to encounter a variety of precipitation forms including freezing rain at roadside elevations.

Heavy snowfall, 30-50 cm. Alpine high temperature -2 C. Ridgetop winds southwest 40 gusting to 75 km/hr. Freezing level rising to 1500-1700 m.

Sunday

Snow, wet flurries, or freezing rain, 15-30 cm. Alpine high temperature 0 C. Ridgetop winds southwest 30-60 km/hr. Freezing level rising above 2000 m.

Monday

Snow, wet flurries, or rain, 50 mm. Alpine high temperature 0 C. Ridgetop winds southwest 40 gusting to 90 km/hr. Freezing level 2000 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid all avalanche terrain during periods of heavy loading from new snow, wind, or rain.
  • Dial back your terrain choices if you are seeing more than 25cm of new snow.
  • Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.

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.