Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Banff, Banff Yoho Kootenay, East Side 93N, Field, Kootenay, LLSA, Lake Louise, Sunshine, West Side 93N.
Beautiful weather for the weekend with an inversion setting up for Sunday-Monday, bringing warmer temperatures aloft. Watch for solar heating at upper elevations; there's some uncertainty about whether this will have a significant impact on the snowpack.
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches observed or reported in the forecast region today. On Friday a few natural windslabs were observed in the Ogden region to size 1.
Snowpack Summary
There has been widespread wind effect down into treeline in exposed areas.
Where the wind hasn't had an impact, the surface is a mix of facets and/ or sun crust, depending on your location. Below this, the mid-pack consists primarily of facets.
At the base of the snowpack lies a widespread, weak layer of depth hoar and a crust. It is dormant for now but should not be forgotten.
Snow depths at the treeline range from 60 to 100 cm.
Weather Summary
High pressure will dominate the forecast region for the next few days. Valley bottoms will see temps ranging from 0°C to -15°C. A temperature inversion will form at 3000m on Sunday, with temperatures staying around 0°C through Tuesday. Moderate north winds at ridge crest. Clear skies and warm alpine temps may lead to significant heating on south aspects.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Previous strong winds have created small wind slabs in exposed alpine terrain. Recent reports indicate both natural and skier-triggered avalanches have occurred on this problem. There is uncertainty regarding their reactivity of wind slabs in the coming days.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 1.5