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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 5th, 2019–Feb 6th, 2019

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

Jasper.

Human triggering of recently overloaded weaknesses remains a possibility, assess the local snowpack before committing to avalanche terrain.

Weather Forecast

An upper level NW flow has brought "warmer" air and some cloud cover to the region. A low pressure center sliding down the coast later in the week will bring light precip Thursday.Weds: Sunny with cloudy periods. Alpine temperature: Low -23 C, High -15 C. Ridge wind light NW.A detailed mountain weather forecast is available from Avalanche Canada.

Snowpack Summary

50cm recent storm snow was followed by strong Northerly winds. This storm snow overloaded the Jan 18 persistent weakness (srfce hoar up to 10mm in sheltered areas at lower elevations, crust on steep solar slopes, and facets on Northerly alpine slopes), and the deep persistent weakness (basal facets - found predominantly in shallow snowpack areas).

Avalanche Summary

Avalanche control work Monday between the Icefields and Saskatchewan crossing, produced several large (size 2-2.5) persistent and deep persistent slab avalanches.A natural cycle of large slab avalanches occurred during the most recent storm.Help forecast - share observations HERE, on the Mountain Information Network!

Confidence

Problems

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.

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.