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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 9th, 2016–Apr 10th, 2016

Alpine
Below Threshold.
Treeline
Below Threshold.
Below Treeline
Below Threshold.
Alpine
Below Threshold.
Treeline
Below Threshold.
Below Treeline
Below Threshold.
Alpine
Below Threshold.
Treeline
Below Threshold.
Below Treeline
Below Threshold.

Regions

Little Yoho.

Heating over the last two days has added a lot of moisture to the snowpack. Expect crusts to break down quickly at lower elevations and watch locally for cloud cover overnight which will prevent a good  freeze. Spring Conditions !

Weather Forecast

A very weak freeze Saturday AM and strong solar input has added to isothermal conditions.  Areas of little Yoho are forecast to see some cloudy periods Saturday night with plenty of sunny breaks though the day Sunday.  Winds will be mainly light and freezing levels to around 2500m

Snowpack Summary

We are into a spring cycle for most of the Little Yoho area except in the high alpine. Dry snow exists only in high North facing terrain. Occasional pockets of deep instability may still be encountered and triggered from warm or shallow locations.

Avalanche Summary

A cycle of loose wet avalanches likely occurred with the reasonably strong heating Saturday mainly on South and Western aspects.

Confidence

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.

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.

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.