Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Oct 1st, 2019–Oct 2nd, 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

Waterton Lakes.

The September Snowpocalypse brought 60-100cm to the park creating winter conditions overnight. The potential for avalanches exists on scrambling routes and hiking trails that lead above the treeline.

Weather Forecast

Check Environment Canada for current updates of the weather forecast. After the un-seasonal dump, the first week of October looks to be a mix of sunny days and flurries bringing small amounts of snow. Freezing levels should rise above mountain top by the end of the weekend, which will quickly make snow in the valley bottoms disappear.

Snowpack Summary

A significant upslope storm has deposited 60-100cm of snow in the park. This came with strong winds out of the North East, and formed windslabs in gulley features and on SW aspects, and created drifts up to a meter and a half deep. As this snow melts down low, be aware of the potential for dry snow and winter avalanche conditions in the alpine.

Avalanche Summary

Several small windslabs to size 1.5 were observed in gulley features during and immediately after the storm. As temperatures warm, expect to see loose avalanches to size 1 on solar aspects at all elevations

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.