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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 18th, 2019–Apr 19th, 2019

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

Northwest Inland.

Snowfall and winds have been steady, but field observations are scant. Use this forecast as your starting point and gather information about the depth and reactivity of new snow as you travel. ..then post your observations to the MIN!

Confidence

Moderate - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

Thursday night: Clear periods. Moderate west winds.

Friday: A mix of sun and cloud with a chance of isolated flurries. Light to moderate west winds. Alpine high temperatures around -5 with freezing levels to 1300 metres.

Saturday: Mainly sunny. Light west or southwest winds. Alpine high temperatures around -2 with freezing levels to 1500 metres.

Sunday: A mix of sun and cloud. Light southwest winds. Alpine high temperatures around 0 with freezing levels to 1800 metres.

Avalanche Summary

A report from Wednesday in the Howson Range describes several very large (size 3) natural loose wet and wet slab releases in steep alpine terrain on a northeast aspect. This area received around 40 mm of precipitation over the week and activity here speaks to heightened avalanche danger in areas where new snow accumulations are deepest.

If you're out we'd love it if you would submit what you're seeing to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

Around 10 cm of new snow accumulated on Wednesday, bringing new snow totals to a variable 15-30 cm, with the deepest amounts found in the southwest of the region. The new snow has buried a melt freeze crust recently formed at treeline and below as well as on slopes that saw sun exposure after Saturday's storm. It adds to a wind-redistributed 5-10 cm of dry snow (from the weekend) on high elevation north facing slopes.

As we enter into mid-April we're dealing with a classic warm snowpack. At and below treeline the snowpack is becoming isothermal. We're tracking the April 4th crust which is down 20 to 40 cm below the surface on high elevation north facing slopes. Surface hoar and facets have been observed on this crust and a few days ago it was producing sudden planar results in snowpack tests.

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.