Regions
Banff Yoho Kootenay.
A storm is on the horizon! If the storm comes early, the danger may rise earlier than forecast. Watch for local snowfall amounts in your area.
Weather Forecast
The jet stream is coming back over us and bringing westerly winds, precipitation and warmer temperatures! Precip is forecasted to start on Monday afternoon with up to 10 cm Monday overnight, then a lull on Tuesday before a bigger storm hits on Wed. Alpine temps will be -10/-15 and winds moderate to strong from the SW starting Monday PM.
Snowpack Summary
5-10 cm of facetted snow with variable wind effect sits on the spotty January 30th surface hoar. This will be the layer to watch as we get more snow. In the alpine, this snow sits on either firm windslabs or suncrusts. The basal facet/ depth hoar problem persists but is well bridged in deeper snowpack areas.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been observed or reported.
Confidence
Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain
Problems
Deep Persistent Slabs
Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.