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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 20th, 2024–Mar 21st, 2024

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Northwest Inland, Kispiox, Microwave-Sinclair, North Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, Telkwa.

A widespread surface crust makes for generally safe conditions.

Weak overnight recovery may allow the snow to deteriorate rapidly with daytime warming.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

No new recent avalanches were reported.

The widespread, natural avalanche cycle reported over the weekend appears to have ended.

If you go into the backcountry, please submit your observations to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

A melt-freeze crust exists on the surface in most areas. Dry powder snow may still exist on true north-facing slopes in the alpine. With solar warming expected, anticipate the crust to weaken throughout the day at lower elevations and south-facing slopes.

A layer of weak, faceted crystals over a crust, or surface hoar, remains a lingering concern, buried approximately 40 to 80 cm deep.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Mostly clear with no precipitation. 10 to 20 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.

Thursday

Mix of sun and cloud. 10 to 30 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.

Friday

Sunny. 20 to 40 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 800 m.

Saturday

Sunny. 20 to 40 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7°C. Freezing level 500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Keep in mind that human triggering potential persists as natural avalanching tapers off.
  • When a thick, melt-freeze surface crust is present, avalanche activity is unlikely.
  • A moist or wet snow surface, pinwheeling and natural avalanches are all indicators of a weakening snowpack.

Problems

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.

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.