Avalanche forecast

South Coast Inland

Dec 13 – 14, 2016Avalanche Canada
View on map
Archived · expired 10 years ago

Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
Open full map

Highlights

Beware of wind-loaded and sun-exposed slopes where the recent storm snow has settled into touchy slabs.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–2
    In the south of the region, snowfall accumulations are enough that storm slabs may have developed. The new snow is expected to be bonding poorly to the old surface. Throughout the region, expect wind slabs on all aspects in exposed terrain.

Confidence

Moderate - Wind effect is extremely variable

Weather Forecast

Expect continued cold and dry conditions for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with the chance of some cloud late Thursday into Friday. Winds should remain light and variable for Wednesday and Thursday, but pick up to strong northerlies on Friday. Alpine temperatures are expected to remain in the -10 to -20 range with a weak inversion on Wednesday, but significant cooling for Friday.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported, but expect the recent storm snow to be reactive to light triggers in areas where it has settled into a cohesive slab, such as lee slopes near ridgecrests and terrain breaks and sun-exposed slopes.

Snowpack Summary

30-70 cm of low density snow recently buried the previous variable snow surface, including hard wind pressed or scoured areas, old wind slabs, weak faceted snow, or small surface hoar. Wind slabs that have formed in response to southwest winds during the storm, or subsequent northerly winds, are likely to be touchiest in the south of the region where the most snow fell. Weaknesses have also been found within the recent storm snow with reports of moderate snowpack test results on preserved stellars down 48cm in the Coquihalla Pass area. The widespread mid-November crust typically down around a metre. Recent snowpack tests have shown the crust to be unreactive, but it could become a problem in shallow alpine start zones.

Regions covered