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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 18th, 2021–Jan 19th, 2021

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

Banff Yoho Kootenay.

Enjoy the good skiing that can be found in wind sheltered terrain!

Weather Forecast

For Tuesday expect strong westerly winds with gusts in the 80-100 km/hr range at ridge top.  Highs will be around -6, the last warmish day before upper level temperatures become colder with a north-northwesterly flow bringing very light flurries for Wednesday.  Click here for more details. No snow & colder temperatures for the upcoming week.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 10 cm of new snow over thin sun crust on steep solar aspects and over previously wind scoured terrain at treeline and above. Jan 11th interface down 20-35 cm producing mod to hard results. Dec 25th, 13th and 7th layers down 50-120 cm and generally produce hard or no results. A rain crust exists on surface below 1500 m in eastern areas.

Avalanche Summary

For the past couple of days, ski hills only reported small explosive triggered wind slab avalanches and several loose dry avalanches up to size 1.5 have been reported out of very steep terrain. Thank you for all the MIN reports!

Confidence

Due to the number and quality of field observations

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.

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.