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

Apr 16th, 2023–Apr 17th, 2023

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

Regions

Glacier.

If only the weather could make up its mind! With forecasted precip amounts jumping around the total snowfall amounts are uncertain.

Regardless, with new snow and strong winds the recipe for slab formation is prime!

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A field team was able to easily trigger size 1-1.5 slow moving loose wet avalanches on a North aspect below treeline yesterday.

Several natural avalanches from all aspects were observed in the park Thursday through Saturday.

On Wednesday, numerous solar triggered storm slab and loose wet avalanches up to size 3 were observed with wide propagation over the March 31 layer.

Snowpack Summary

13cm of new snow (Sunday night @ ALP & TL) will cover a surface crust on all aspects, except due North where dry snow still exists.

In the upper snowpack, two main layers remain a concern, the Apr 9 crust (dn 5-20 BTL) and the Mar 31 crust (dn 50cm) remain reactive to tests.

The mid and lower snowpack are generally strong and the Nov 17 basal weakness can still be found 20-40cm off the ground.

Weather Summary

A low pressure system arrives tonight bringing light to moderate precipitation and strong gusty winds.

Tonight: 13cm. Alpine Low -11 °C, FZL 500m, S-SW winds 20-45km/hr

Mon: Mix of sun & cloud. Alpine High -5 °C, FZL 1500m. Light gusting strong S winds.

Tues: Trace. Low -8 °C, High -4 °C, FZL 1700m. West wind 10-25km/hr

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Approach lee and cross-loaded slopes with caution.
  • Watch for signs of instability like whumpfing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks or recent avalanches.
  • Avoid terrain traps such as gullies and cliffs where the consequence of any avalanche could be serious.

Problems

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.

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.