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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 30th, 2021–Jan 31st, 2021

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

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay.

There is uncertainty in the amount of snow and wind in the forecast over the next three days. Do not be surprised if there is more snow than anticipated at the local level.

Weather Forecast

Snow fall is expected to start midday on Sunday. It will snow lightly but continuously through until late on Tuesday, producing roughly 35cm. It is going to be fairly windy throughout this period with strong SW winds. Relatively mild temperatures will persist through the period as well.

Snowpack Summary

10-30 cm of storm snow with the most in the southern areas. The storm snow sits over facets in sheltered areas and over previous wind effect in exposed alpine and tree line areas. The mid-pack is well settled with the various persistent weak layers visible in the snowpack but unreactive to stability tests. The Nov crust/facets are near the ground.

Avalanche Summary

Forecasters were able to ski cut very soft slabs 15cm deep which ran fairly far. This occurred in a steeper start zone down 93S. Additionally, small loose dry avalanches could easily be triggered on any steep roll or feature. Neither the soft slabs or the loose dry avalanches had much volume.

Confidence

Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain on Sunday

Problems

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.

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.