Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 12th, 2024–Feb 13th, 2024

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

Regions

South Rockies, Akamina, Crowsnest North, Crowsnest South, Elkford East, Elkford West.

As the new snow falls remember buried wind slabs are still able to be triggered.

Watch for dry loose avalanches running far and fast on the crust.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A few large (size 2) wind slab avalanches were triggered with explosives in the south on Monday.

A rider accidentally triggered a small wind slab avalanche below treeline near Window Mountain on Sunday. The wind slab had formed further downslope than normal.

On Saturday explosive triggered wind slab avalanches up to size 3, failing on the crust layer, were reported in the south.

Snowpack Summary

An upslope storm (coming from the east) could see 10 to 20 cm of light, dry snow near the Continental Divide on Tuesday.

Previous moderate to strong southwest wind developed wind slabs at all elevations. In sheltered spots, expect 20 to 40 cm over the crust.

Below this crust, the shallow faceted snowpack is generally well consolidated. There are two crust layers, one in the midpack and another near the base of the snowpack, that have been unreactive.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

A mix of sun and clouds. 15 to 35 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy with 10 to 20 cm of snow. 0 to 20 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.

Wednesday

A mix of sun and cloud. 10 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -15 °C.

Thursday

A mix of sun and cloud. 15 to 30 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -17 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
  • Loose avalanches may start small but they can grow and push you into dangerous terrain.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.

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.