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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 5th, 2017–Apr 6th, 2017

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

Regions

Little Yoho.

The next big warm-up comes this way starting on Wednesday evening and continuing through Friday. The snowpack is unlikely to re-freeze overnight, and with continued rain and snow, the conditions will not be great for the next couple of days.

Weather Forecast

A series of warm low pressure systems are moving across BC and AB starting Wednesday night and continuing through Thursday evening. For Thursday expect freezing levels to 2300m, with treeline temperatures at +2. Rain in the valley bottom and snow above 2000m may accumulate 10cm before it stops. Friday will be cloudy and warm.

Snowpack Summary

A settled, mostly dry snowpack exists on shaded aspects above 2300m. On other aspects and below 2300m, expect morning crust and wet snow by mid-day. Concern remains about the integrity of the deeper snowpack; avoidance of large slopes is still recommended. Warmth over the next few days will release cornices and slush avalanches at lower elevations.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were observed or reported today (teams on the western side of the Wapta and at the Sunshine Village area).

Confidence

Freezing levels are uncertain on Thursday

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.

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.

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.