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

Mar 14th, 2021–Mar 15th, 2021

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

Solar radiation is still a concern on cloudy days. Expect the hazard to deteriorate with daytime heating. Best skiing can be found on Northern aspects.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Monday morning will start out with a temperature of around -8c and warm up to 0c in the alpine. Expect mostly cloudy skies with light flurries starting around noon. The freezing level is expected to climb to 2200m along with moderate SW winds.

Avalanche Summary

Many loose wet avalanches up to size 2 were observed on solar aspects.

On Saturday, one large naturally triggered size 3 slab avalanche was observed on a SE aspect in the Alpine. This slab exhibited wide propagation, was approximately 60cm deep and occurred after only a couple of hours of sun shining directly on it.

Snowpack Summary

The snowpack continues its transition to Spring. Sunday was the warmest day of the Spring so far with barely freezing temperatures Saturday night. This caused many wet loose avalanches on solar aspects on Sunday. If Sunday night is clear, expect a crust on solar aspects on Monday and if it is cloudy, then the solar aspects might not have refrozen. In either case, solar radiation will play a factor in deteriorating the conditions, even on cloudy days. 

On non-solar aspects there are still some buried wind slabs in the upper 60 to 80cm of the snowpack that are worth investigating before committing to bigger terrain. Be alert on the changing snow conditions under your skis.

Terrain and Travel

  • Avoid sun exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong, especially if snow is moist or wet
  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and sun exposure.
  • Cornices become weak with daytime heating.
  • Avoid rock outcroppings, convexities, and anywhere the snowpack is thin and/or variable.

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.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.