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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 14th, 2022–Jan 15th, 2022

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

Regions

Little Yoho.

Wind initiated natural avalanche activity could increase Saturday, as Extreme winds dominate the forecast region.

Weather Forecast

A strong Westerly flow will move into the forecast region for the weekend. Extreme Westerly winds will dominate the alpine Saturday. We will see a slight cooling trend, with freezing levels near valley bottom. Overcast skies and light precipe are expected till Monday.

Snowpack Summary

10-20cm of  settled storm snow with strong to extreme winds has added to windslabs at treeline and above. These overlie facets in many places. The Dec. 2 crust and facets are anywhere from 130cm deep in the snowpack in thicker parts, and half that depth in thinner snowpack areas such as Mt. Stephen and Mt. Dennis.

Avalanche Summary

Explosive control work near the Field town site Friday produced numerus avalanche to size 3, triggering both wind slabs and the persistent avalanche problem. Along with the explosive control results we observed numerus natural avalanches at all elevations that had run full path over the past 48 hours.

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.

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.