Special avalanche warning persists as B.C. mountains see 'significant warm up'
The risk of avalanches this weekend in the alpine areas of B.C.’s South Coast mountains is considerable, and Avalanche Canada’s special warning for multiple regions of B.C. remains in place.
Earlier this week, the agency issued the warning for multiple Southern Interior regions as well as the Sea-to-Sky and South Coast Inland regions, from Squamish to Pemberton.
“There is a significant warm up occurring,” said Karl Klassen, the warning service manager for Avalanche Canada.
“The problem is that we’re not seeing a lot of avalanches, but the ones we’re seeing are unexpected and large.”
On Friday, the hazard level for the South Coast mountains, which includes Metro Vancouver’s mountains, increased.
For both Saturday and Sunday in alpine areas – the upper third of the mountains – the hazard level is 3 out of 5, also known as “considerable.” This, says Klassen, is up from a hazard level of 2 earlier in the week.
A hazard level of 3 means that natural avalanches are possible, and human-triggered avalanches are likely.
“There is a lot of uncertainty as to how the snowpack is going to react to the sustained heat and sun,” reads the Avalanche Canada forecast for the South Coast.
“Loose, wet avalanches and cornice failures are expected to become more likely each day.”
Klassen says to approach any backcountry areas with caution, and to only go out if you’re trained and practiced on avalanche safety.
“I'd be very, very cautious wherever the temperatures are rising, especially if they're rising rapidly and getting warm. And I'd also be very, very cautious on the slopes that are getting direct sun and solar radiation,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.