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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 13th, 2013–Feb 14th, 2013

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

Jasper.

Weather Forecast

The weather forecast calls for sunny with variable clouds and the occasional light snow flurry with very little snowfall until the weekend.  The weekend may produce some additional new snow.  Temperatures should stay in the -2 to -10 C range.

Snowpack Summary

Hard windslab is bridging the weak basal facets above treeline.  Today's field trip produced a single large whumpf  in a flat area which shows the potential of triggering a slab from shallow snowpack areas. Last night's frontal passage was underwhelming and brought only sporadic snowfalls of 3 to 12cm. Below treeline, the mid-pack is weak.

Avalanche Summary

Several loose snow avalanches originating from a reverse loaded ridge top with a south east aspect in the alpine.  The avalanche patrol was from Jasper to Saskatchewan crossing and return indicating that not much is happening.

Confidence

Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain on Saturday

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.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.