YESTERDAY:
FORECAST:
A weak disturbance left a dusting last night, today will be unsettled, mix of sun and cloud in a Westerly flow aloft. The freezing level will hover in the 1200 m range, dropping to near surface tonight.. More of the same on Sunday with cloudy weather and a chance of an isolated flurry in the afternoon. A weak Pacific front arrives Monday with periods of light precipitation. Ridge flattens Tuesday with a few showers. Guesstimates: 0-trace by Sunday, 0-trace by Monday, 4-8 cm by Tuesday am, 0-trace by Wednesday am.
AVALANCHE ACTIVITY:
FROM AVALANCHE CANADA:
Avalanche Summary
Recent heavy precipitation and warm temperatures produced widespread natural avalanche cycles at all elevations. At treeline and below saw wet loose and slab avalanche cycles to size 3 on all aspects, during the most intense rain and warming. Upper treeline and alpine terrain produced storm slabs to size 3 in most areas.
Several very large avalanches have been noted since the storm, up to size 4 where terrain allows. Of note, an avalanche was naturally triggered near Harrison Lake, in the South Coast region. This was thought to have started as a cornice fall which triggered a large storm slab and stepped down to a deeper layer. It likely failed on the weak early December facets as it was up to 3 m deep in places and ran approximately 1300 m.
Snowpack Summary
Heavy precipitation over the last week has created a variety of surface snow conditions. Strong southwest winds have created pockets of dry snow at alpine elevations on north through east facing slopes. Precipitation fell as wet snow or rain below 2200m, creating saturated snow that is forming a melt freeze crust with moist snow below.
A crust that formed prior to the rain was observed up to 2000m. This is now buried up to 30 cm deep and may be breaking down at lower elevations.
Two buried weak layers of sugary, faceted grains sit in the middle and lower snowpack, at 100cm deep and 150-250 cm deep. The deeper layer was formed by heavy rain followed by a cold spell in early December. It is most prominent between 1700 and 2100 m. Avalanches on this layer are large, but sporadic and isolated. The most likely place to trigger it would be in thin, rocky snowpack areas.
The lower snowpack is well-settled and strong.
INFORMATION & OBSERVATIONS:
LOCAL MIN REPORTS:
Exit Gulley-Shannon Creek Basin: Jan 14, 2022
Lakeside Bowl: Jan 14, 2022
VIDEOS:
North Shore Snowpack: Jan 14, 2022
Snow avalanche: Mont Blanc
ARTICLES:
Sz 4 avalanche near Harrison Lake: Mountain Conditions Report
Full report on deadly avalanche that killed two snowshoers: Colorado
La Nina Advisory-ENSO Report: Jan 13, 2022
CAIC's New Tool for analyzing and understanding avalanches: Colorado
