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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 2nd, 2022–Dec 3rd, 2022

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, human triggered possible.
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

South Okanagan, Shuswap, North Okanagan.

Start simple! We have a lot of uncertainty: very few field reports for this forecast region, and a reactive layer of surface hoar primed for human triggering in the forecast regions to the east.

Choose conservative terrain and investigate the bond of the new snow.

Confidence

Low

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been observed or reported in this region. However, note that we have had no field observations in for this forecast region this winter.

Potential for skier-trigger avalanches are likely to be found on terrain features that harbor additional snow such as just below ridgetops and on steep wind-loaded slopes.

Snowpack Summary

15-30 cm fresh snow blanketed the region over the last few days. Southwest winds have impacted loose snow at upper elevations. In the Columbia and Kootenay-Boundary Forecast regions, a layer of surface hoar down 30-50 cm (below the new snow) has been quite reactive with extensive reports of whumpfing and cracking. This layer is likely found throughout our forecast region, but we need more field observations to determine its extent and sensitivity.

Snowpack depths exceed 100 cm at upper elevations. In these deeper areas around 65 cm of snow overlies a weak layer from mid-November that consists of sugary faceted grains, weak surface hoar crystals in sheltered terrain features, and a hard crust on steep sun-exposed slopes.

Weather Summary

Friday night

Cloudy with light flurries, trace to 5 cm overnight. Increasing southwest wind 10-20 km/hr. Treeline temperature low -15 °C.

Saturday

Partly cloudy with sunny breaks in the afternoon. Southwest wind 10-20 km/hr decreasing through the day. Treeline high temperature -6 °C.

Sunday

Clear, cold, and calm. Light northeast wind, treeline high temperatures -10 °C.

Monday

Cold with incoming clouds and wind. Southwest wind increasing to strong. Treeline temperatures -12 C, wind chill lower.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Pay attention to the wind, once it starts to blow fresh sensitive wind slabs are likely to form.
  • Potential for wide propagation exists, fresh slabs may rest on surface hoar, facets and/or crust.
  • Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the old surface.

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.