Avalanche forecast

Jasper

Feb 12 – 13, 2013Parks Canada
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Archived · expired 14 years ago

Avalanche danger

Tue
Wed
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Tuesday's avalanche danger will increase if the forecasted frontal passage comes in Monday night instead of Tuesday night.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2
    Up to 10cm of snow from recent flurries has been redistributed by moderate NW winds onto the Southeast aspect of terrain features. This soft slab could knock a person over in steeper terrain.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    1–3
    The hard windslabs that dominate the alpine snowpack have been unreactive lately. It still may be possible to trigger an avalanche on steep unsupported terrain from thin areas and  the edges of these slabs.

Weather Forecast

Up to 20cm of snow could fall as a front passes through the area beginning later in the day on Tuesday and continuing through to Wednesday mid day. Temperatures will drop by a few degrees overnight as the front passes and a trailing cold front settles into the area.

Snowpack Summary

Hard windslab is bridging the weak basal facets above treeline.  Field tests in the alpine on a SE windloaded terrain feature produced easy results on a buried surface hoar layer directly below the hardslab. This confirms that there are several weak layers below that the avalanche can slide on.  Below treeline, the mid-pack is weak.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were observed today.

Confidence

Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain on Tuesday

Regions covered