Avalanche forecast

Banff Yoho Kootenay

Mar 18 – 19, 2015Parks Canada
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Archived · expired 12 years ago

Avalanche danger

Fri
Sat
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Winter returns... snow is in the forecast! See the "forecast details" tab for more information on the forecasted weather.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2
    These wind slabs have become less sensitive, however human triggering is still possible. Likely this will come in the form of a hard wind slab rather than a soft one, if tested.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    2–3
    The lower half of the snowpack is weak due to the presence of basal facets and depth hoar. This layer has been dormant lately but may be more sensitive with forecasted new snow load, especially in thin areas.

Weather Forecast

Light flurries move into the region on Thursday and will be accompanied by strong winds.  Snow is expected Friday-Sunday with up to 10 cm per day expected. Greatest amounts will be along the Continental Divide and West. Winds accompanying the weekend storm will be light SW with moderate gusts.

Snowpack Summary

Recent strong wind has created hard slabs on the snow surface in the alpine. On the Wapta, areas of soft snow with ski penetrations to 15 cm were found today. At and below treeline expect to find a mix of facets and crusts. As ghastly as that combination sounds, generally it is well bonded.

Avalanche Summary

A natural size avalanche size 1.5 was observed near the Balfour Hut on Tuesday. The observer describes the avalanche as a hard windslab. It was noted at 2300m on a North aspect. No other avalanches were observed or reported.

Confidence

Due to the quality of field observations

Regions covered