Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Waterton Lakes.
Weather Forecast
The ongoing effects of a strong south west flow will continue to give strong SW winds, scattered precipitation and warm temps through Thursday. On Friday the flow begins to shift to more of a weak Westerly, giving clearing skies, tapering winds and cooling temps in to the weekend.
Snowpack Summary
Warm temps have moistened the upper snowpack below treeline. Strong to Extreme SW winds have created hard Wind Slabs and/or sastrugi in all open areas. Faceted layers in the mid and lower snowpack remain a concern, particularly in shallow snowpack areas where facetting is more pronounced and triggering is more likely.
Avalanche Summary
No recent avalanche activity has been observed. A Large (Size 3) Deep Persistent slab avalanche was observed in Alpine terrain last Friday, at 2250m on a North aspect. Triggered by a small Wind Slab hitting a shallow spot, this propagated across the slope into the adjacent deeper snowpack and was up to 2m thick in places.
Confidence
Due to the number of field observations
Avalanche Problems
Deep Persistent Slabs
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 2 - 3
Loose Wet
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 1