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

Feb 11th, 2022–Feb 12th, 2022

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

Regions

Yukon.

Choose simple terrain that is sheltered from the wind, and watch for signs of instability. At lower elevations, the new snow is falling on a hard, slippery crust. Avalanches and humans could slide farther than expected. 

Confidence

Moderate - We are confident the likelihood of avalanche will increase with the arrival of the forecast weather. Uncertainty is due to the limited number of field observations.

Weather Forecast

Stormy conditions Friday night and through the day Saturday. Expect the higher snowfall amounts shown below to hold true for the areas closest to White Pass.

FRIDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy. 5-15 cm of snow expected. Extreme southwest winds trending to south by the morning. Alpine temperatures around -7 °C.

SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy. 5-15 cm of snow expected. Extreme southwest wind becoming strong by the afternoon. Freezing level rising to around 750 m. Alpine temperatures around -5 °C.

SUNDAY: Partly cloudy. Possible trace of snow expected. Light west wind, trending to moderate northwest at higher elevations. Freezing level falls to valley bottom. Alpine high around -7 °C.

MONDAY: Mostly sunny. Possible trace of snow expected. Light northwest wind trending to strong at higher elevations. Alpine high around -10 °C.

Avalanche Summary

WIth new snow and wind Friday night and through the day Saturday, we expect rider triggered windslab avalanches to be likely in terrain exposed to the wind.

No new avalanches were reported before 4 pm on Friday.

On Thursday, explosives avalanche control between Carcross and Fraser produced a couple of size 2 windslab avalanches. These avalanches were on east and southeast aspects just above treeline.

Snowpack Summary

10-30 cm of new snow has likely been formed into windslabs by southwest winds. In more exposed terrain, where wind speeds could reach 80 km/h, the new snow could be scoured away, or transported further downslope on leeward terrain.

The new snow overlies a breakable crust up to 1200m, and a variety of wind affected surfaces above 1200m.

The mid snowpack is generally dense and strong.

In shallow snowpack areas, a layer of loose facets can be found at the bottom of the snowpack. 

Terrain and Travel

  • Avoid all avalanche terrain during periods of heavy loading from new snow and wind.
  • Fresh wind slabs will likely form throughout the day, diligently watch for changing conditions.
  • Look for signs of instability: whumphing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, and recent avalanches.
  • Dial back your terrain choices if you are seeing more than 20 cm of new snow.
  • 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.