Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Waterton Lakes.
Weather Forecast
Warm temperatures are the main concern for the next few days. Some solar heating should be expected Saturday with freezing levels near 1800m. A warm wet system will reach the area in the evening. Up to 30mm of Precip is expected with freezing levels around 2000m. These heat inputs will affect surface snow and weaken both slabs and cornices.
Snowpack Summary
Warm conditions persist and maintain moist snow below 1800m. Suncrusts have formed on solar aspects. Storms slabs up to 50 cm thick have formed with W winds and warm temps. 70 to 170cm now buries the weak February facet layer and large avalanches have resulted when this layer is triggered demonstrating the ability of these slabs to propagate.
Avalanche Summary
Wind and warm temps caused a cornice failure that triggered a deep slab in the Alpine that ran to valley bottom. Moist snow at low elevations failed as slabs both on storm interfaces and the persistent layer with avalanches running near the bottom of their run outs. Loose wet events have occurred with warm temps BTL and on solar aspects.
Confidence
Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain
Avalanche Problems
Storm Slabs
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Possible - Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 2
Persistent Slabs
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Possible - Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 3
Loose Wet
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Likely - Very Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 2