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 16th, 2022–Feb 17th, 2022

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

Regions

South Coast Inland.

 The likelihood of triggering the late January layer is low but not impossible. Use caution on slopes where a thick and supportive crust is absent. 

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

Wednesday night: low of -7 at 1500m in the north and -3 in the south. Light flurries bringing trace amounts of snow with moderate northwest winds.

Thursday: Cloudy with flurries bringing up to 5cm of new snow. Moderate northwest winds and freezing levels rising to 1300m.

Friday: cloudy with light flurries. Light to moderate northwest winds and freezing levels rising to 1200m.

Saturday: stormy weather bringing 5 to 10cm of new snow and moderate southwest winds. High of -2 at 1500m.

Avalanche Summary

On Tuesday several natural wet loose avalanches to size 1.5 were observed in the south of the region.

On Monday a size two natural persistent slab avalanche was reported. This avalanche released in steep terrain on a northeast aspect at 1850m and ran on the late January layer. This avalanche likely occured on Sunday.

On Sunday, several natural cornices were observed in the north of the region, some of which triggered size 1-2 slabs on the slopes below. Around the Coquihalla, some glide slab avalanches were observed. Small loose wet avalanches were also observed from steep sun-exposed slopes throughout the region. 

Snowpack Summary

The new snow has buried a widespread crust and wind-affected surfaces in exposed high elevation terrain. The melt-freeze crust is reported to exist on all aspects and elevations except for high elevation polar aspects in the north of the region which may still hold dry snow. Facets and surface hoar can be found above the crust. 

The late-January crust/facet/surface hoar interface is buried down 20-70 cm. This layer was most reactive between 1700 m and 2000 m in the north of the region. While this layer now appears to be dormant in many parts of the region, recent snowpack tests suggest it is still very reactive in a few places in the north of the region and would still be capable of producing large avalanches if triggered.

Terrain and Travel

  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to the presence of buried persistent weak layers.
  • Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.

Problems

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.

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.