Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 10th, 2020–Mar 11th, 2020

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

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay.

Another pulse of snow over the region will add another 15 cm to the snowpack, again with strong winds making windslabs in leeward areas. Generally a strong snowpack with few natural avalanches, but watch for triggering small slabs near ridge crests.

Weather Forecast

A system moves through the area starting end of the day on Tuesday that will deposit 10-15 cm of new snow across the park, accompanied by strong westerly winds. Temperatures on Wed will continue in the -5 to -15 range. The snow will continue through until Friday when the temperature drops for a short blast of -25 on the weekend.

Snowpack Summary

Moderate to strong winds on Tues and overnight Wed will have blown snow and created small windslabs directly beside ridge crests that are prone to human triggers. In some areas, this snow overlies buried sun crusts formed in late February. We continue to monitor the deep, weak facetted snow in the shallower areas of the park.

Avalanche Summary

The ski resorts reported easy ski cutting of 10-15 cm windslabs (size 1) formed through the day on Tuesday and observed a cornice fall in very steep terrain that triggered a size 2 windslab on the slope below.

Confidence

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.

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.