Avalanche forecast

Purcells

Mar 30 – 31, 2014Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 13 years ago

Avalanche danger

Tue
Wed
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–3
    Recent accumulations have likely been blown into pockets of wind slab by generally moderate southwest winds.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    2–6
    There are a number of persistent layers in the mid to lower snowpack which have professional operators concerned. Possible triggers include cornice fall, thin spot triggering and/or solar warming.

Confidence

Fair - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain on Monday

Weather Forecast

Monday: Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries. Light west winds. Freezing level 1500 m.Tuesday: Mostly sunny. Freezing level 1600m. Winds west and northwest light.Wednesday: Mix of sun and cloud. Freezing level 1600m.

Avalanche Summary

Recent reports from the central part of the region indicate a few cornice triggered avalanches to size 2.5 in the alpine on north aspects.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 50cm of new snow has fallen in the central part of the region in the last 3 days (5-10cm in the northern part of the region). This new snow is settling and likely being formed into soft wind slabs immediately lee of ridge crests.Numerous crusts can be found in the upper 60cm of the snowpack on south facing slopes. The March 15 crust/surface hoar interface is down 50-80cm. Down 90-120cm below the surface you may find surface hoar and crusts buried at the beginning of March. This interface is still touchy in some areas, particularly in the north of the region. It also continues to produce sudden planar failures in compression tests.The deeper facet/crust persistent weakness buried at the beginning of February, now down 120 - 200cm, still seems to be reactive and should not be trusted. Needless to say, any avalanche at these deeper, persistent interfaces would be large and destructive. Weak basal facets exist in many areas, but without a large load, triggering is unlikely.

Regions covered