Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 22nd, 2025–Mar 23rd, 2025

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

Regions

Glacier.

A series of moisture laden systems are set to start their parade tomorrow afternoon.

There has been a lot of variability in the weather models, so be prepared for hazard to rise more than forecast if the storm arrives earlier than expected.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A field team was able to find reactive wind-slabs up to 30cm deep, propagating 10-15m and running half-way down fans. They also observed size 1 skier triggered, dry loose avalanches.

Natural avalanche activity has tapered off in the last few days. The majority of the action has been either solar triggered loose dry when the sun pops out or windslabs at ridge top in the alpine.

Snowpack Summary

Convective squalls have incrementally delivered up to 40-60cms of new snow in the last week. Recent moderate to strong SW'ly wind has been redistributing the storm snow.

The March 5th interface is down 50-100cm and consists of a crust &/or surface hoar.

Two persistent weak layers (PWL) of facetted snow from cold temps in Jan/Feb are now buried 120-160cm beneath the surface.

Weather Summary

Westerly flow means lots of snow! (Hopefully not rain...). A steady stream of moisture arriving Sunday through Tuesday.

Tonight Cloudy, trace precip. Alpine low -8°C. Wind SW 20-40km/hr. Freezing level (FZL) 900m.

Sun Snow 20cm. Alpine high -4°C. SW winds 35km/h. FZL 1500m.

Mon Flurries 9cm. Alpine high -3°C. SW winds 25-55km/h. FZL 1800m.

Tues Snow 37cm. Wind SW 25 gusting 55km/hr. Alpine high 2°C. FZL 2500m

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • 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

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.

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.