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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 30th, 2015–Dec 1st, 2015

Alpine
Below Threshold.
Treeline
Below Threshold.
Below Treeline
Below Threshold.
Alpine
Below Threshold.
Treeline
Below Threshold.
Below Treeline
Below Threshold.
Alpine
Below Threshold.
Treeline
Below Threshold.
Below Treeline
Below Threshold.

Regions

Cariboos.

A big change in the weather is headed our way. Visit avalanche.ca/weather for more details.

Confidence

Poor - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

Bottom Line: The weather is changing, the inversion should be cleared out by Tuesday morning. The coast will likely get hammered as a digging upper trough makes landfall over the next few days. Some of the snow and southerly winds associated with this event are expected to spill over into the Cariboos. At this point amounts and timing are too dynamic to pin down, but the region should see 5 to 15cm of snow Tuesday night, with an additional 5cm Wednesday. Strong SW winds are expected throughout the region beginning Tuesday night. The freezing level should remain at valley bottom through Tuesday night. Its expected to climb to around 1500m Wednesday before returning to valley bottom Wednesday night. The pattern looks similar for Thursday with the freezing level once again rising to around 1500m. For detailed mountain weather information visit: avalanche.ca/weather.

Avalanche Summary

No reports of avalanches in the Cariboo region from the last few days. If you have observed any, please share your information through the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

The snowpack is extremely variable at this time, with wind scoured North facing slopes at treeline and above. South facing slopes have wind slabs at tree line and above and may be hiding surface hoar from the previous spell of cold clear weather. Surface facetting has observed in the region as a result of the recent cold weather and clear skies, and surface hoar as large as 40mm has been reported building in sheltered locations below tree line. There are a number of surface hoar layers now buried in the snowpack that seem to be unreactive, with the most recent having been buried on Nov 24th. In shallow snowpack areas, especially on northern aspect, there is a weak facetted layer at the base of the snowpack. Warming temperatures and strong solar radiation over the weekend has left a crust on solar aspects.

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.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.