Avalanche forecast

South Rockies

Jan 23 – 24, 2012Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
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Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–4
    Winds are expected to be in excess of 100 km/h all day Tuesday and will affect both the alpine and treeline elevation bands. Expect potentially sensitive wind slabs on slopes lee to the W, SW winds.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–2
    Tuesday's storm isn't expected to bring much snow to the region; 5 - 10 cm is all that is forecasted. Watch for small loose snow avalanches in protected areas in the afternoon.

Confidence

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

Weather Forecast

A strong westerly flow is setting up for Tuesday with average seasonal temps. The big story is the wind. Winds are forecasted to be out of the W in excess of 100 km/h at ridgetop all day Tuesday. Precipitation will begin to fall Tuesday afternoon continuing into the night, there should be around 5 cm of new snow out of this pulse by Wednesday morning. A second system of lesser intensity moves through the area Wednesday/Thursday producing another 5 cm of snow. Thursday afternoon and Friday look to be generally dry.

Avalanche Summary

Very little avalanche activity has been reported or observed recently.

Snowpack Summary

Last week 40-60cm of snow formed soft slabs over a crust/facet/surface hoar combo which has settled remarkably quickly. Our field team was out over the weekend covering ground & they saw very little in the way of avalanche activity. Deeper in the snowpack, a surface hoar layer buried in early December remains a concern, as avalanches triggered on this layer would be destructive. There may have been releases on this layer post storm but at this time nothing has been reported. It should be noted that basal facets exist in many parts of the region too.Facets sandwiched between two firm layers in the top metre of the snowpack are being monitored in the south-east.

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