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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 21st, 2024–Feb 22nd, 2024

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

Regions

South Okanagan, Shuswap, North Okanagan.

Continuously assess conditions and look for signs of instability as you move through terrain.

New snow amounts vary throughout the region and so do the surfaces it has fallen on.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Over the past week riders have triggered wind slabs up to size 2. Check out this MIN for a good example of one.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 10 cm of new snow has buried a variety of surfaces including surface hoar in sheltered terrain, a crust on south and west facing slopes as well as old wind slab on exposed terrain.

Another layer of surface hoar is down around 20 cm in sheltered areas.

The widespread crust buried in early February is down 30 to 50 cm and has sugary facets on top.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

A mix of cloud and clear skies with trace amounts of new snow. 5 to 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5°C.

Thursday

A mix of sun and cloud with trace amounts of new snow. 15 to 25 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level rising to 1700 m.

Friday

Mostly sunny. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level rising to 1800 m.

Saturday

Cloudy with trace amounts of new snow. 25 to 50 km/h west alpine wind. Freezing level around 1500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Carefully monitor the bond between the new snow and old surface.
  • Look for signs of instability: whumphing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, and recent avalanches.
  • Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.

Problems

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.

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.