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

Dec 13th, 2017–Dec 14th, 2017

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Kananaskis.

Stable conditions out there.  Wind slabs cover most of the alpine and extend into tree line.  Good skiing can be found near tree line and below.  Be cautious of thinner snow coverage and natural hazards(logs and tree stumps) in the trees.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Thursday is expected to bring mostly sunny skies with a temperature inversion (1c in the alpine and cooler in the valley bottom).  Winds will be 25km/hr from the west.  Freezing level is suppose to be at valley bottom.  Cooler temps and isolated flurries forecast for Friday.

Avalanche Summary

No avalanche activity observed.

Snowpack Summary

The snowpack is mostly stable and will not not change much until  we see a major weather change. Quite a bit of wind slab on all aspects in the alpine and trending to treeline. This wind slab can be quite hard and mostly breakable. Isolated sun crust on steep solar aspects. Surface hoar is growing and is found up to 2100m. The November rain crusts will be present for the season and are 30-50cm down from the surface but are not a big concern at the moment.

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.

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.