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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 18th, 2020–Mar 19th, 2020

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

South Coast.

Warm sunny weather continues. Use increased caution when slopes and cornices warm up throughout the day.

Confidence

High - We have a good understanding of the snowpack structure and confidence in the weather forecast

Weather Forecast

A high pressure system brings clear dry conditions for the foreseeable future.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Clear skies, calm wind, freezing level remains around 1700 m, treeline temperatures drop to +2 C.

THURSDAY: Sunny, light south wind, freezing level around 1700 m, treeline temperatures reach +6 C.

FRIDAY: Sunny, light to moderate northwest wind, freezing level around 1700 m, treeline temperatures reach +6 C.

SATURDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, light to moderate northwest wind, freezing level around 1300 m, treeline temperatures reach +2 C.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported the past few days, although warm temperatures have likely resulted in natural wet loose avalanches in steep south-facing terrain. A few wind slab avalanches were human triggered over the weekend (see these MIN reports for details), but these slabs should be less reactive by now.

Snowpack Summary

Sustained above freezing temperatures for the past few days has resulted in moist snow on the surface. Crusts may form overnight, and shaded alpine slopes likely have hard wind slabs on the surface. The snowpack is well-settled. Depths are roughly 300-400 cm around 1200-1400 m and taper rapidly with elevation, with no snow below 700 m.

Terrain and Travel

  • Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.
  • Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.
  • Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.

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.