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

Feb 27th, 2021–Feb 28th, 2021

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 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.

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay.

Increased wind will create fresh wind slabs on Sunday. Expect wind slabs that sit on top of weak facets to be more reactive. Dig down to confirm and be on the look out for  wind slabs that are buried.

Weather Forecast

Sunday will see a slight warming trend. Small amounts of snow are expected. Wind is expected to pick up into the strong range from the W-SW for Sun and Mon. All of these weather factors will increase wind slab development.

Snowpack Summary

15 to 30cm of storm snow since Friday. Snow and wind have created wind slabs in alpine lee areas and exposed treeline slopes. In thin snowpack areas 30-60 cm of snow sits over weak facet interfaces which fail more easily in tests. In deeper snowpack areas there was less facetting, and the recent storm snow is bonding better.

Avalanche Summary

Lake Louise ski patrol triggered a size 2 wind slab avalanche that stepped down to the Jan 27 facet layer which produced a fracture line that was 80 to 120cm deep. Also, at Serac in Kootenay, an ACMG guide reported a size 2.5 loose dry avalanche triggered by a cornice. Limited details, but it reportedly kicked up a substantial powder cloud.

Confidence

Wind speed and direction is uncertain on Sunday

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.