Avalanche forecast

Waterton Lakes

Feb 20 – 23, 2016Parks Canada
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Archived · expired 11 years ago

Avalanche danger

Sat
Sun
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

It feels like late spring in the valley and mid winter in the alpine.  Don't let the conditions at the parking lot lull you in to being complacent.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–2
    Another layer of fresh windslab will be created by Friday nights storm.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    1–3
    While mostly stubborn to trigger, buried layers of old windslab over a couple of buried crusts have the potential for wide propagation.  Use a probe or a pole to test for the presence of these buried layers.

Weather Forecast

Temperatures remain relatively cool, with 10-15cm of snow forecast for Friday night into Saturday morning accompanied by moderate SW wind.  Skies clear by Saturday evening as the winds shift to being more westerly.  Cloudy skies return for Sunday afternoon as the trailing end of a weak front brings flurries and ongoing westerly wind into Monday.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 50mm in the past week, accompanied by warm temperatures and strong SW winds.  This has left in it's wake a well settled snowpack below treeline; a couple of buried crusts, down as deep as 30cm and 50cm (widespread below 2200m and extending into the alpine on solar aspects), and several layers of stiff windslab in the alpine and at treeline.

Avalanche Summary

A few natural size 1-1.5 avalanches occurred Thursday night into Friday morning out of N-E facing terrain at treeline, these are suspected to have been windslabs.

Confidence

Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain

Regions covered