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

Dec 19th, 2022–Dec 20th, 2022

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

Regions

South Coast Inland, Birkenhead, Duffey, South Chilcotin, Stein, Taseko.

Remember that a deep persistent layer remains a concern despite the lack of recent avalanche activity. Small avalanches on the surface could step down to deeper layers, creating large avalanches.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanche activity has been reported over the last few days.

If you head out into the mountains, please share your photos or observations on the Mountain Information Network. Your information helps us understand local conditions!

Snowpack Summary

Up to 10cm of recent, low-density snow continues to facet with cold temperatures. Surface snow is cold, light, and ideal to be redistributed by wind into drifts and stiff wind slabs. The new snow overlays an upper snowpack generally made up of old, settled wind-affected snow and a crust on solar aspects.

A layer made up of weak facets and depth hoar is found at the bottom of the snowpack. It is most prominent in shallow snowpack areas that are generally unconsolidated and lack any cohesion in the upper snowpack.

In general, the snowpack is highly variable, ranging from 50 to 200 cm around treeline.

Weather Summary

Monday night

Mostly cloudy with a trace of snow. Temperatures around -20 C and light Southwesterly winds in the alpine.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy with snow, up to 5 cm. Temperature -15 to -25 C and light to moderate Westerly winds in the alpine.

Snow and wind values are lower as you move North of the Duffey.

Wednesday

Sunny with periods of cloud, and no precipitation. Temperatures -20 to -30 C and light to moderate Northeast winds.

Thursday

Sunny with periods of cloud, and no precipitation. Temperatures -15 to -25 C and generally light Northeast winds.

Wednesday

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Expect slab conditions to change drastically as you move into wind exposed terrain.
  • If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.

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.