Regions
Banff Yoho Kootenay.
We are hinging on rating the alpine low or moderate... for today and tomorrow, due to wind affect last week we just need more field data to confirm the low rating.
Weather Forecast
Cloudy skies with a light flurries for tomorrow. A moisture stream will start to move into the region Thursday night and into Friday, bringing warmer temperatures. Snow amounts are uncertain and depend on the track of the system, so far the greatest amounts could be in the Wapta region where we could see 10-30 cm, stay tuned.
Snowpack Summary
West of the divide the mid-pack is generally well settled. The early January surface hoar exists down ~50 cm in some areas but is decomposing and unreactive to slope tests and compression tests. East of the divide the mid-pack is faceted. Throughout the region some fresh wind slabs up to 25 cm thick exist in the immediate lee of alpine features.
Avalanche Summary
Small 0.5 soft slabs were ski cut today in the immediate lee of features. Loose snow avalanches to size 1.5 out of steep terrain was observed yesterday. For the past several days there have been no significant avalanches observed or reported.
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.