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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 18th, 2019–Apr 19th, 2019

Alpine
Below Threshold.
Treeline
Below Threshold.
Below Treeline
Below Threshold.
Alpine
Below Threshold.
Treeline
Below Threshold.
Below Treeline
Below Threshold.
Alpine
Below Threshold.
Treeline
Below Threshold.
Below Treeline
Below Threshold.

Regions

Little Yoho.

An avalanche cycle is expected Friday. Warm temperatures and possibly rain will make for poor travel at low elevations while extreme winds and more snow will make for full winter conditions in the alpine. A good time to avoid avalanche terrain.

Weather Forecast

A significant cold front should cross the divide overnight Thursday. Temperatures ahead of the front have been rising with rain expected to 2000m. Winds will spike to extreme as the front passes and remain in the strong range Friday with up to 40cm falling above 2000m. Expect cooling and at least some clearing Saturday as the winds finally diminish

Snowpack Summary

Between 60-80 cm of snow has fallen in the last week with snowpack values reaching seasonal highs 2000m and above. Extreme west winds on Wed created widespread windslabs in alpine areas. Moderate winds Thursday continue to produce significant sluffing of loose snow. Expect crusts below 2000m to be weak with warm temps and possibly rain Friday.

Avalanche Summary

Winds Thursday continued to produce a widespread cycle of loose dry avalanches and likely a few slabs out of high alpine terrain along the divide while broken skies and warm temperatures produced minor loose wet activity at low elevations further to the east. A few large slabs were seen in high alpine areas Wednesday as a result of strong winds.

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.

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.