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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 18th, 2020–Feb 19th, 2020

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

Banff Yoho Kootenay.

Beautiful weather and good snow conditions will make for an excellent day Wednesday. The sun is higher in late February, so be aware of the increased power of solar radiation on the snowpack. Ice climbers with long exposure times stick to the shade.

Weather Forecast

A 10 to 15 degree fluctuation from evening lows to daytime highs is forecasted for the week. In the alpine this temperature swing is not as prevalent, an inversion will form over night and temps will stay steady at -6. Clear skies Wednesday and Thursday will bring increased solar inputs on Southerly aspects. Winds will remain light for Wednesday.

Snowpack Summary

Continued settlement and cool temperatures are slowly stabilizing the recently formed windslabs, which could still be triggered in steep, loaded areas in the alpine. Suspect sun crust formation on steep S and SW facing terrain. Weak, facetted snow near the base of the snowpack persists in much of the range, producing isolated but large avalanches.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were observed or reported on Tuesday. Over the weekend we received a few reports of very large (size 3.5) avalanches failing on the deep persistent week layer that ran to valley bottom.

Confidence

Timing or intensity of solar radiation is uncertain

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.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.