Avalanche Forecast

Poor - Due to the number of field observations

A Pacific frontal system is generating rain and strong winds over the coastal regions today (Tuesday). This system will move into the Cariboos Tuesday night and should produce 1 to 5cm of snow above 600m. No new snow is expected Wednesday. On Thursday 1 to 8cm of snow are expected as the freezing level rises from the valley bottom to around 1800m in the afternoon. A third pulse Thursday night should deliver an additional 2 to 8cm as the freezing level hovers around 1700m. Gusty SW winds will likely blow through the forecast period. Its important to take snowfall amounts with a grain of salt with a system as dynamic as this one. For more detailed mountain weather information visit: avalanche.ca/weather

No avalanche activity has been reported from the Cariboos for days. If you have observed any, please share your information through the Mountain Information Network.

Our relatively young snowpack is already quite complicated. Northerly winds associated with last weeks outbreak of Arctic air stripped many south facing features near ridgecrest. As a result, tired old wind slabs have been reported on north facing features at and above treeline. The cold air and associated inversion created trophy surface hoar that seems to average around 20mm in size and can be found from creek bottom up to around 1800m. Sun and above freezing alpine temperatures were also part of the last week, so you're likely to find a suncrust on solar aspects (south and west) at and above treeline. The three different November surface hoar interfaces that we were previously concerned about seem to be a thing of the past and are not producing any activity. Its thought that there is a crust/facet interface on or just above the ground on high elevation north facing features, but the lack of observations surrounding this interface make us think that this is a very isolated problem, and it has likely become inactive.