Look out for spring hazards such as glide crack releases, cornice fall and loose wet avalanches.
Confidence
Fair - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather is uncertain on Sunday
Weather Forecast
Overnight and Sunday: Saturday's snow/rain should taper off by the evening. Another system will be tracking into the US northwest this evening and could bring some light precipitation to the southern part of the South Rockies for late Sunday. The cooling trend continues with overnight freezing levels reaching the valley bottom overnight, but could rise again to 2000m on Sunday during the day. Winds overnight moderate from the west, changing to light from the southwest on Sunday.Monday: No forecast precipitation / Light southeast winds / Daytime freezing levels drop to1200m Tuesday: No forecast precipitation / Light southwest winds / Rising freezing levels, up to 2000m in the afternoon
Avalanche Summary
A size 2 glide release on a below treeline, north east aspect of Mount Fernie occurred on Saturday.Loose wet slides continue out of steep terrain.
Snowpack Summary
The cooling trend means that snow has fallen in the high alpine in the forecast region. Gusty southwest winds may have left windslabs in the lee of ridge features. In the alpine, the new snow overlies moist/rain soaked snow on all aspects. The March 16th crust may still exist on more northerly aspects and large triggers such as a wet slide or cornice drop may cause this layer to fail. In the treeline and below treeline zones, snow is generally isothermal on all aspects.
Problems
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.
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.