Avalanche Forecast
South Coast
New snow and wind are creating deeper and increasingly destructive storm slabs ripe for human triggering. Sticking to simple terrain would be a great way to manage the elevated hazard on Thursday.
Avalanche Problem 1: Storm Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Avoid all avalanche terrain during periods of heavy loading from new snow, wind, or rain.
- The new snow will need time to settle and stabilize.
- Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and time of day.
Avalanche Problem 2: Cornices
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Large amounts of recent new snow and high winds are creating rapid cornice growth.
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Give cornices a wide berth when travelling on or below ridges.
- Falling cornices may trigger large avalanches on the slopes below.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been reported, but that may speak more to a lack of observations rather than actual conditions. Looking forward, forecast snow and wind will promote ongoing storm slab avalanche activity, especially in higher elevation, lee terrain.
Snowpack Summary
In recent days the region was pummeled by heavy precipitation with the rain line hovering around 800m. 20cm of new snow is being redistributed by moderate southerly ridgetop winds. The reactivity of the new storm slabs is likely to vary greatly depending on elevation/ temperature and orientation to wind. In general, I would expect the touchiest conditions to exist in exposed, higher elevation terrain.
Weather Forecast
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: 15-30cm of new snow / Strong to extreme southwesterly ridgetop winds / Freezing level around 1000m.
THURSDAY: 10-20cm of new snow / Moderate southwesterly ridgetop winds / Freezing level dropping to around 600m.
FRIDAY: 5-10cm of new snow / Light southwesterly ridgetop winds / Freezing level around 600m.
SATURDAY: 5-10 cm of new snow / Light to moderate southwesterly ridgetop winds / Freezing level around 600m.
Avalanche Forecasts in your Inbox
Avalanche Canada has switched to an RSS feed for its daily forecasts. This is a much more flexible method that allows automatic delivery to your email inbox, or to an RSS reader of your choice.
What are RSS feeds?
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a popular standardized file format allowing up-to-date delivery of web-based content. RSS feeds enable you to receive content updates from websites, delivered to your email through an RSS aggregator (such as blogtrottr.com) or viewed through applications called RSS readers (such as feedly.com).
Set up an RSS feed for your email:
Select a RSS aggregator
- South Coast URL:
http://www.avalanche.ca/api/forecasts/south-coast.rss - Copy the url and paste it into the appropriate field of your RSS aggregator.
- Fill in your email address.
- Voila! Watch the Avalanche Canada forecast roll into your inbox.
Forecast Disclaimer
Avalanche Canada's Public Avalanche Bulletin, and other information and services provided by Avalanche Canada, are intended for personal and recreational purposes only.
**THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND IN NO EVENT SHALL THE PROVIDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES RESULTING FROM DISCOMFORT, INJURY, OR DEATH, CLAIMS BY THIRD PARTIES OR FOR OTHER SIMILAR COSTS, OR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THE INFORMATION.**
The user acknowledges that it is impossible to accurately predict natural events such as avalanches in every instance, and uses the data in this bulletin with this always foremost in mind. The accuracy or reliability of the data is not guaranteed or warranted in any way and the Providers disclaim liability of any kind whatsoever, including, without limitation, liability for quality, performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose arising out of the use, or inability to use the data.
Forecast new snow and wind on Wednesday night are expected to continue to create touchy storm slabs reactive to human triggers.