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

Dec 8th, 2012–Dec 9th, 2012

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

Regions

South Coast.

Confidence

Fair - Wind speed or direction are uncertain on Sunday

Weather Forecast

Overnight and Sunday:  NW winds 10-20 km/hr overnight with 0-2 mm precipitation by morning. During the day, the temperature in the Alpine is expected to reach near zero as an inversion is expected to develop near the coast and then push into the interior. Winds are expected to gust to extreme values Sunday evening.Monday: The ridge of High pressure is forecast to bring mostly sunny skies through the day with light winds and alpine temperatures slightly below zero. Winds are expected to increase in the evening.Tuesday: A gusty cold front is forecast for Tuesday. Expect moderate Westerly winds to shift to the South and bring 15-20 mm of precipitation.

Avalanche Summary

Evidence of previous avalanches up to size 3.0 from Mt Joffre at 2000 metres. Ski cutting produced heavy sluffing.

Snowpack Summary

There is  about 140 cms below treeline in the Duffey Lake area, with 30 cms ski penetration and waist deep foot penetration at treeline. At 1900 metres on a NE aspect there was 60 cms of very light (Fist) density snow above slightly stiffer (4 Finger) snow. Snow stability tests showed only mid storm collapses. The Coquihalla also has a well settled "right side up" snowpack that is about 190 cms deep at 1550 metres elevation. "Right side up" means that the surface layers are light and soft, and then the layers get progressively more dense as you move down through the snowpack. The ski penetration has been reported to be about 40 cms and the foot penetration is very deep at 80 cms. The light snow is causing a lot of sluffing in steeper terrain, but is not reacting as a slab. The November crust has not been found in the Coquihalla, although we don't have any reports from the high alpine. Conditions may be quite different in the North of this region, please email us your observations if you are out in the field. [email protected]

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.