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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 9th, 2013–Mar 10th, 2013

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

Regions

Kootenay Boundary.

Confidence

Fair - Track of incoming weather is uncertain

Weather Forecast

Saturday night and Sunday: Winds will pick up as the next system is moving in but precipitation will not be as much as forecasted yesterday. Expect just light precipitation starting late during the day with moderate winds from the W.  Freezing levels should still rise to 1300 m. but solar radiation will be much less than Saturday.Monday:  Light precipitation amounts are expected with overcast skies, light W winds and slightly cooler temperatures and lower freezing levels. Tuesday: Timing and track of the next system is still uncertain, but there is a potential for a fairly active system that could deliver interesting amounts of precipitation.

Avalanche Summary

There was several reports of natural and skier triggered loose wet avalanches size 1-1.5 running on the underlying crust on E and S aspects and sluffing on N facing slopes.

Snowpack Summary

Recent windslabs have formed on lee features with W and E winds in the alpine and below ridgetops at treeline. Windslabs will continue building tomorrow with forecasted W winds. These will be susceptible to sledder and skier triggering. The recent snow from earlier this week is sitting on an older snow interface above 2000 m. and on a melt freeze crust below that elevation. In much of the region, up to 80 cm snow overlies a surface hoar and sun crust which is becoming less reactive to skier traffic but that is still a concern to professionals. At the surface of the snow, expect to find a new suncrust on SE-S-SW facing slopes at all elevations (especially on steep slopes), a melt-freeze crust all the way up to 2000 m. and possibly some surface hoar on shaded slopes above that elevation.

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.