Avalanche Forecast

Issued: Dec 5th, 2014 7:59AM

The alpine rating is moderate, the treeline rating is moderate, and the below treeline rating is low. Known problems include Wind Slabs.

Peter, Avalanche Canada

Northwest Inland.

Wind is the story once again. Winds are forecast to be very strong and might continue to wreak havoc on the snowpack.

Summary

Confidence

Poor - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

Saturday: Cloudy with flurries possibly 5-10 cm. The freezing level remains at valley bottom and winds are moderate or strong from the SW. Sunday: Cloudy with a chance of flurries in the afternoon. The freezing level should stay near valley bottom. Winds remain moderate from the S-SW. Monday: Cloudy with flurries or showers. The freezing level should start to climb and could reach 1500-1800 m late in the day. Winds increase to strong or extreme from the S-SW.

Avalanche Summary

There are no new avalanche reports from the region. Please let us know what you're seeing out there. Email us at forecaster@avalanche.ca.

Snowpack Summary

As we begin our forecasting season, we are working with limited information from the field. This forecast is primarily based off weather station data and a few field observations.Recent reports describe a shallow, highly variable, and wind affected snowpack with an average snow depth of 60 to 100 cm. The current snow surface is probably a mix of surface hoar, sugary facets, wind slab, or a crust depending on elevation and aspect. In some places a rain crust might be buried 20-30 cm deep, while in wind-exposed areas it could be on the surface. Deeper in the snowpack you may find another rain crust that formed earlier in the season. There's not much recent info on the strength of these crust interfaces.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Only light amounts of snow are forecast but winds should be very strong. Expect touchy wind slabs to form in open leeward terrain. Old hard slabs from recent outflow winds may also be lurking underneath.

Use ridges or ribs to avoid wind loaded and cross loaded slopes.>Avoid convexities or roll overs in wind-affected terrain where triggering a wind slab may be more likely. >

Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South.

Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.

Likelihood

Possible - Likely

Expected Size

1 - 3

Valid until: Dec 6th, 2014 2:00PM