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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 19th, 2023–Dec 20th, 2023

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.
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

Sea To Sky, South Coast Inland, Brandywine, Homathko, Spearhead, Birkenhead, Duffey, South Chilcotin, Stein, Taseko.

Carefully assess conditions as you gain elevation. At elevations where precipitation fell as snow wind slabs are possible, where precip fell as rain the problem is most likely wet loose.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A few small wet loose avalanches have been observed in steep terrain over the past few days.

If you're heading out in the backcountry, please consider sharing any observations on the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

New snow will likely form wind slab throughout the day in the alpine. At treeline and below precipitation is likely to fall as rain making the snow surface moist.

At treeline and above two layers of note are buried around 30 to 70 cm deep. Both consist of a crust that tapers at higher elevations, and surface hoar in sheltered areas.

Overall, the snow depth remains shallow, with average treeline snowpack depths between 70 and 100 cm.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Mostly cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of new snow expected, south alpine wind 15 to 40  km/h, freezing level around 1800 m.

Wednesday

Mostly cloudy with up to 3 cm of new snow expected, south alpine wind 10 to 30 km/h, freezing level around 1800 m.

Thursday

Mostly cloudy with around 5 cm of new snow expected, southwest alpine wind 25 to 50 km/h, freezing level around 1700 m.

Friday

Cloudy with 10 to 15 cm of new snow expected, southwest alpine wind 25 to 50 km/h, freezing level around 1700 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Look for signs of instability: whumphing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, and recent avalanches.
  • Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.
  • As surface loses cohesion due to melting, loose wet avalanches become common in steeper terrain.
  • Adjust your travel plans accordingly to the changing conditions of elevation and time of day.

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.

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.