Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 2nd, 2024–Mar 5th, 2024

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Regions

Long Range Mountains, Corner Brook, Gros Morne, Northern Peninsula.

Avalanche hazard exists in areas with a surviving snowpack, like high alpine bowls, gullies and ridgelines. Warming on Sunday will destabilize recent snow sitting over a slippery crust.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported.

Snowpack Summary

10 to 30 cm of recent snow is settling rapidly in the warm temperatures. It sits over a thick crust or directly on the ground in areas where the snowpack was washed away by last week's rain. In exposed terrain, the recent snow has been redistributed into lee features by strong west winds.

In the high alpine, greatest snowpack depths are in the range of 1 m. Elsewhere, most areas are below threshold for avalanches.

Weather Summary

First a mini warm up on Sunday, then a major warm up on Tuesday night.

Saturday night

Increasing cloud. West wind 30-50 km/h switching southwest and easing overnight. Alpine temperature rising to 0 °C. Freezing level rising to 300 m.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy with up to 5mm of mixed precipitation concentrated south of Port au Port. West wind 20-40 km/h. Daytime freezing level 400 m dropping to sea level overnight. Alpine daytime high +2 °C, overnight low -14 °C.

Monday

Sunny. Northwest to northeast wind <20 km/h. Alpine daytime high -5 °C, overnight low -15 °C.

Tuesday

A mix of sun and cloud. Southwest wind 20-30 km/h. Alpine temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 200 m, then rising to 3000 m overnight and into Wednesday.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Winter conditions may exist in gullies, alpine bowls, and around ridgelines.
Extra caution for areas experiencing rapidly warming temperatures for the first time.
Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
As surface loses cohesion due to melting, loose wet avalanches become common in steeper terrain.

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.