Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Mar 20th, 2021 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is
cgarritty,
Avalanche Canada
Exercise caution at low elevations if you're encountering wet snow that lacks cohesion. Small wind slabs may form in leeward alpine features with light new snow amounts.
Summary
Confidence
Moderate -
Weather Forecast
Saturday night: Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries bringing and a trace of new snow. Light to moderate southwest winds, initially strong in the alpine.
Sunday: Cloudy with scattered flurries and up to 5 cm of new snow, continuing overnight. Light to moderate southwest winds, increasing over the day and becoming strong in the alpine. Alpine high temperatures around -6 with freezing levels to 1500 metres.
Monday: Cloudy with isolated flurries and a trace of new snow. Light southwest winds. Alpine high temperatures around -5.
Tuesday: A mix of sun and cloud. Light southwest winds, becoming strong in the alpine overnight. Alpine high temperatures around -5.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been reported in the region over the past few days.Â
Looking forward, cool temperatures are expected to help lock down the snowpack in mid-elevation areas recently wetted by rain. Light forecast snow amounts are not expected to be sufficient to form a new wind slab problem beyond isolated small slabs in leeward terrain features.
Snowpack Summary
Light new snow amounts have been accumulating over wind affected surfaces in the alpine while light rain has wet the snow surface below about 1700 metres. Forecast light flurries will continue to add a bit of dry snow to this mix at all but lower elevations in the coming days.
Around 30 to 60 cm of snow sits above a layer of sugary faceted grains that were buried in mid-February. In some areas, there may be an old layer of feathery surface hoar or facets from late January down 50 to 80 cm deep. There have been no reported avalanches on either of these layers in the region since March 9th in the Crowsnest. Cooling temperatures are expected to further decrease their likelihood of producing avalanches.
The mid pack is firm and well settled. Some faceted snow and a decomposing melt-freeze crust can be found near the base of the snowpack.
Terrain and Travel
- Be alert to conditions that change with elevation.
- Small avalanches can have serious consequences in extreme terrain. Carefully evaluate your line for wind slab hazard before you commit to it.
- Watch for unstable snow on specific terrain features, especially when the snow is moist or wet.
Valid until: Mar 21st, 2021 4:00PM
