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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 8th, 2024–Feb 9th, 2024

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

Regions

South Rockies, Akamina, Bull, Crowsnest North, Crowsnest South, Elkford East, Elkford West.

New snow and variable moderate winds are likely to build new wind slabs throughout the day. Assess often for signs of instability as you transition into open alpine and treeline terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches reported.

Suspect new low-density storm snow to be redistributed by variable winds throughout the day building small wind slabs in lee terrain features

Snowpack Summary

Roughly 5 to 10 cm of new snow will further bury variable surfaces of wind-affected snow, thin sun crusts, and soft snow. These upper layers have bonded well to a widespread supportive crust that is down 20 to 40 cm.

Below this crust, the shallow faceted snowpack is moist and starting to refreeze with cool temperatures. Two crust layers, one in the midpack and another near the base of the snowpack continue to be monitored. Avalanches on these layers are unlikely.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Cloudy with scattered flurries beginning late afternoon with 7 to 12 cm accumulation (highest amounts near Elkford) into Friday morning. Alpine wind variable 10 to 20 km/h. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Friday

Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries with 2 to 5 cm accumulation. Alpine wind variable 10 to 20 km/h. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Saturday

Clear with cloudy periods. Alpine wind southwest 20 to 25 km/h. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

Sunday

Mainly cloudy. Alpine wind southwest 20 to 25 km/h. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Recent wind has varied in direction so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.
  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.

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.