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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 27th, 2025–Feb 28th, 2025

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

Regions

Coquihalla, Harrison-Fraser, Manning, Skagit.

Persistent weak layers are scary and will be more concerning in warm weather.

Rider-triggered avalanches are likely and could be very destructive.

Be mindful of overhead hazards.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Small loose wet avalanches were observed on Wednesday from steep solar slopes in the Coquihalla.

Evidence of natural avalanches from the past weekend's storm is still visible throughout the region, with numerous very large (size 3.5 to 4) persistent slabs with impressive crowns (100 to 200 cm) in the Manning region.

Snowpack Summary

30 to 40 cm of rapidly settling storm snow is found at treeline and above. Wind-affected snow is present in lee features, while a sun crust is found on southerly slopes.

A weak layer of faceted snow or surface hoar is now buried 100 to 120 cm deep and present in higher elevations, particularly shaded terrain. Professionals are concerned about this layer waking up with the warm weather.

A crust from December exists buried more than150 cm deep, with facets around it in shallow areas.

At lower elevations, the snow is wet, heavy and water-saturated.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Cloudy with isolated flurries. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +2°C. Freezing level around 2000 m.

Friday

Mix of sun and clouds. 10 to 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature stable around +6°C. Freezing level rising to 2800 m.

Saturday

Mostly sunny. 30 to 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +6°C. Freezing level reaching 2800 m.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy. 10 to 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +2°C. Freezing level around 1500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried weak layers.
  • Avoid thin areas like rocky outcrops where you're most likely to trigger avalanches on deep weak layers.
  • Cornices often break further back than expected; give them a wide berth when traveling on ridgetops.

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.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

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.