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

Dec 6th, 2024–Dec 7th, 2024

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

Regions

Vancouver Island, East Island, North Island, South Island, West Island.

Heavy rain overnight on Friday will create a weak, sloppy snowpack.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No avalanche activity has been reported in the past week.

Following Friday night's heavy rain, the biggest thing to look out for will be weak, uncohesive wet snow that could create wet loose avalanches on steep slopes.

If you are going out in the backcountry, please consider filling out a Mountain Information Network (MIN) report.

Snowpack Summary

Heavy rain will continue to percolate through a dense, well-settled snowpack. As rain transitions to snow on Saturday, up to 10 cm of new snow accumulation is possible.

A thick melt-freeze crust may be found 45 to 60 cm from the surface.

Snow depths at treeline vary across the region, 250 cm is reported near Mt. Washington, 180 cm near Elk Mountain, and 150 cm near Mt Cain. This rain will continue to shrink snowpack depths.

Weather Summary

Friday Night

Cloudy with 20 to 90 mm of precipitation. 70 to 100 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level 3000 m dropping to 2000 m. Treeline temperature +3°C.

Saturday

Cloudy with up to 8 mm of precipitation. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level drops to 1200 m. Treeline temperature -1 °C.

Sunday

A mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries. 30 to 50 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C.

Monday

A mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries. 15 to 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Keep in mind that the high density of wet avalanches can make them destructive.
  • Carefully manage your exposure to overhead hazards.

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.