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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 19th, 2013–Mar 20th, 2013

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

Light snow on Wed will do little to change the danger rating, but 10 to 15cm of snow on Wed night with strong SW winds will push the avalanche hazard up. Natural avalanche activity continues. Check Facebook for a couple of photos.

Confidence

Fair - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather is uncertain

Weather Forecast

Light flurries expected Wednesday with rising freezing levels and strong to extreme SW winds. A more vigorous precipitation event is possible Wednesday night.

Avalanche Summary

An isolated natural avalanche cycle continues, including cornice triggered slides. Observations today observed a few large avalanches in the alpine, primarily on solar aspects. Many of these slides have been running fairly far, and avalanches in shallow snowpack regions have stepped down to ground.

Snowpack Summary

3 to 5cm of new snow overnight. Moist snow on solar asp in the afternoon. Previous storm snow is settling rapidly. Storm slabs exist on all aspects in the alpine and open areas at treeline. Cornices have grown significantly. Several layers of crust exist in the upper snowpack, especially on solar aspects. These remain layers of concern during periods of warming and/or solar radiation.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.

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.