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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 9th, 2024–Feb 12th, 2024

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

Regions

Waterton Lakes, Waterton.

With fresh snow and strong winds forecasted for Sunday, new wind slabs are likely to form and be reactive to skier traffic. The wind direction will continue to be variable so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed in the past 3 days.

Snowpack Summary

20 cm of new snow with a recently buried thin crust on solar aspects. Below the new snow, a thick melt freeze crust exists at all aspects and elevations. Below this, the snowpack is moist to ground at treeline and below, now slowly refreezing. Significantly less snow in the eastern areas of the park. Snowpack depths between 30 - 150 cm.

Weather Summary

Sat

Clear skies with an alpine high of -7°C. Winds increasing to 35 - 45 km/hr from the NW.

Sun

Scattered flurries, wind continuing to increase to 65 km/hr and switching to SW. Alpine high of -6°C.

Mon

Up to 10 cm of new snow by the evening. Winds 55 km/hr, decreasing to 25 km/hr from the W. Alpine high of -6°C.

For more info see: Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Recent wind has varied in direction so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.

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.

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.