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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 5th, 2023–Feb 6th, 2023

Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
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.

Regions

Northwest Coastal, Kitimat, Nass, Rupert, Seven Sisters, Shames, Stewart, Howson, Ningunsaw.

Avoid all avalanche terrain. Natural and human triggered avalanches are very likely.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

In the north of the forecast region explosive control produced storm and wind slab avalanches up to size 2.5.

We suspect a natural storm slab cycle will take place throughout the region on Monday.

Large avalanches on more deeply buried persistent weak layers are continuing to be reported.

Snowpack Summary

New storm slabs will build throughout the day adding to the 70 to 100cm of previous storm snow from the past week. This older storm snow overlies facets, a crust and various wind-affected surfaces in alpine terrain. At treeline a widespread, supportive, melt-freeze crust can be found up to 1800m and at all elevations on steep solar slopes.

The previous storm snow is not bonding well to the underlying surfaces.

The mid and lower snowpack continues to bond and stabilize while a number of buried weak layers remain a concern and have produced a few large avalanches recently.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Cloudy with 5 to 15cm of new snow expected. Moderate to strong southerly winds and a low of -2 at 1500m.

Monday

Stormy with 15 to 50cm of new snow expected at higher elevations. Moderate to strong southwest winds and freezing level rising to 1300m.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy with 5 to 10cm of new snow expected. Light southerly winds and a high of -5 at 1500m.

Wednesday

Mostly cloudy with flurries bringing a few centimeters. Moderate southwest winds and a high of -6 at 1500m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid all avalanche terrain during periods of heavy snowfall.
  • Storm slab size and sensitivity to triggering will likely increase through the day.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.

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.