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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 6th, 2017–Jan 7th, 2017

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

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay.

Natural activity has completely trailed off for a few days. Open areas still hold the potential for larger releases of slab over weak facets.

Weather Forecast

Cold temperatures and flurries are forecast. Two lows in the Pacific are presently doing battle with the impressive high that has dominated our weather. As of yet things are still forming but we may be looking at snow and warmer temps reaching us by Monday. Unfortunately, the snowpack is presently weak and cannot support loading.

Snowpack Summary

20-30 cm of facetting storm snow sits over top of the Dec 19 layer facet layer which in turn sits on the Nov 12 raincrust. Winds over the past week have created wind slabs in exposed areas. In many places these wind slabs sit on a weak snowpack comprised of facets and depth hoar.

Avalanche Summary

Two small loose dry avalanches were noted in Kootenay today from rocky terrain.

Confidence

Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system 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.

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.

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.