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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 16th, 2020–Jan 17th, 2020

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

Regions

Glacier.

Touchy wind slabs have been concealed by 10cm of new snow.  Keep the wind slab problem in mind when transitioning into open and exposed areas.

Weather Forecast

Snow flurries today with 6cm of accumulation. A temperature inversion is in effect with frigid temperatures at lower elevations (-20 C) and an expected alpine high of -8 C. Moderate NE winds are currently blowing. Winds will calm with the only the occasional gust to 35km/h. Flurries continue through Saturday with temperatures steadily rising.

Snowpack Summary

10cm of new snow sits atop soft wind slabs in exposed areas. The Dec 27th surface hoar/ crust layer is buried approximately 100cm. The mid and lower snowpack are generally well settled and strong.

Avalanche Summary

Three new natural avalanches size 2-2.5 were observed in the highway corridor yesterday. All of these slides terminated near the top of their run-outs. Field teams observed some cracking of the surface snow while ski cutting in wind affected terrain.

Confidence

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.