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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 22nd, 2024–Mar 23rd, 2024

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

Regions

North Rockies, Sugarbowl, East Kakwa, Kakwa, McGregor, Pine Pass, Tumbler.

Spring conditions have arrived. Watch for the sun warming steep, sunny slopes in the afternoon.Potential remains to trigger a persistent slab on upper elevation north-facing slopes.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported since last weekend, but field observations have been limited.

If you head to the backcountry please consider submitting your observations to the MIN.

Snowpack Summary

A widespread crust is capping the surface of the snowpack in most areas, and is expected to decrease the likelihood of triggering avalanches. This crust may soften and melt during the day as it warms. Shady, upper-elevation slopes may have 5 to 10 cm of soft snow over this crust in some parts of the region.

Another crust, formed in early February, is buried about 50 to 110 cm deep. This crust has a weak layer of facets above it in many areas. Triggering this layer is unlikely in most areas, but remains possible mainly on high-elevation north-facing slopes.

Weather Summary

Friday Night

Mostly clear. 20 km/h northeast ridgetop winds. Treeline temperatures drop to -10 °C.

Saturday

Sunny. 15 to 20 km/h northeast ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature high of 0 °C. Freezing level rising to 1300 m.

Sunday

Sunny. 15 km/h northwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature high of 1 °C. Freezing level rising to 1600 m.

Monday

Sunny. 30 km/h west ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature high of 2 °C. Freezing level rising to 1700 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Minimize exposure to steep, sun exposed slopes, especially when the solar radiation is strong.
  • In areas where deep persistent slabs may exist, avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks and unsupported terrain features.
  • When a thick, melt-freeze surface crust is present, avalanche activity is unlikely.

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

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.