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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 15th, 2020–Dec 16th, 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

Kananaskis.

Its all about the winds. Keep a close eye on localized winds and wind affect. Any areas that have seen winds will likely be pushing into considerable danger ratings.....

Confidence

Moderate - Uncertainty is due to the speed, direction, or duration of the wind and its effect on the snowpack.

Weather Forecast

Light snowfalls will persist over the next few days with 5cm of snow forecast overnight and up to 15cm over the next 72hrs. The big thing at current is winds. SW winds increased on Tuesday and we expect them to continue into Wednesday. With all the recent snow around, conditions will change quickly with new windslabs building. 

Avalanche Summary

A few small loose dry sluffs were observed but overall there was no new slab avalanches noted by field teams. 

Snowpack Summary

Up to 10cm of recent snow at treeline combined with the recent low density snow is being moved around by winds creating new windslabs in open areas up to 20cm thick. These new windslabs are overlying a variety of snow surfaces from sun crusts, surface hoar and previous windslabs. Evaluate this interface as you travel and feel for that drummy hollow feeling. Deeper down the November crust still persists and should still be in your mind.  

Terrain and Travel

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • In areas where deep persistent slabs may exist, avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks and unsupported terrain features.

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.