Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Little Yoho.
A significant storm on Monday/Tuesday will have added additional load to the snowpack (snow above 2000m and rain below) It will take some time for the snowpack to adjust to this load. Conservative terrain choices are in order.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches reported in the Yoho Region but expect numerous wet loose avalanches at lower elevations due to the warm temps and rain on Monday.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 20 cm of storm snow in the alpine (end of day Monday) overlies previous windslabs and suncrusts with rain saturated snow below 1800m. Storm slabs can be expected in the alpine and tree-line areas.
Several buried crusts can be found in the top 50-60 cm on solar aspects. The November depth hoar at the base of the snowpack remains a concern only in shallow areas of the Yoho sub-region.
Weather Summary
Monday Night: Freezing levels will reach valley bottoms and 5-10 cm of snow expected above tree-line.
Tuesday: Freezing Levels around 14-1600m. 10-15 cm of snow above 2000m. Winds will be 20-40Km/h from W/SW.
Wednesday: Cloudy skies with light flurries that will be convective in nature. Freezing Levels 14-1600m.
Avalanche Problems
Storm Slabs
Up to 20 cm of snow on Monday (and 15-25 cm expected by end of day on Tuesday) will have created widespread storm slabs in alpine and treeline locations.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Likely - Very Likely
Expected Size: 1.5 - 2.5
Deep Persistent Slabs
The November basal facets at the base of the snowpack have been mainly dormant in this region. This new load (of snow above 2000m and rain below) will be a good test on this layer, There is some uncertainty as to whether this layer will "wake up" in the Yoho region.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 2 - 3.5