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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 10th, 2022–Mar 11th, 2022

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

Regions

Vancouver Island.

New snow will soften riding conditions but increase the potential of triggering an avalanche.

Confidence

High - We are confident the likelihood of avalanche will increase with the arrival of the forecast weather.

Weather Forecast

THURSDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 5 to 10 cm, 30 km/h west wind, treeline temperature -3 C, freezing level 500 m.

FRIDAY: Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 5 to 10 cm, 60 km/h southwest wind, treeline temperature -2 C, freezing level 700 m.

SATURDAY: Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 15 to 30 cm, 50 km/h southeast wind, treeline temperature -2 C.

SUNDAY: Cloudy with early-morning snowfall then clearing, accumulation 10 to 20 cm, 30 km/h southwest wind, treeline temperature -3 C.

Avalanche Summary

No recent avalanches were reported. Looking forward, new slabs are expected to progressively form as the snow accumulates. The slabs may be easy to trigger if the snow doesn't bond well to the hard melt-freeze crust.

Snowpack Summary

Around 10 to 20 cm of new snow will fall with strong southwest wind, forming new wind slabs in exposed terrain. The snow will fall onto a widespread hard melt-freeze crust found across the region. The crust is thickest at low elevations and on sun-exposed slopes. The crust may not exist on high alpine terrain on north aspects. The new snow may not bond well to this crust.

The remainder of the snowpack is well-bonded.

Terrain and Travel

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Wind slabs are most reactive during their formation.
  • Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.

Problems

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.