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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 8th, 2021–Mar 9th, 2021

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

Kananaskis.

Spring is in the air. Warm temps and intense solar radiation can lead to a rapid increase in avalanche danger levels. Be aware of localized conditions. Wind slabs are still a concern at higher elevations. Dig and explore the snowpack before committing to bigger terrain.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Tuesday will be mostly sunny with light westerly winds to start the day, switching to moderate SW by the afternoon. Temperatures will reach -5 with freezing levels near 2000m. Light snow is expected on Wednesday.

Avalanche Summary

A few loose dry avalanches up to size 1.5 were observed from very steep Alpine terrain today on N, E and S aspects. These were likely triggered by the rapid loading from the brief, but intense, convective flurries.

Snowpack Summary

5 to 15cm of convective snow fell in the past 24hrs. The snowfall amounts vary considerably across the region. This new snow overlies a crust on solar aspects, and in many cases this new snow will have turned moist by Monday afternoon, producing a new surface crust by Tuesday morning. On non-solar aspects expect the recent snow to be sitting over a wide variety of previously formed wind slabs. These slabs vary considerably in depth and distribution. Recent snowpack tests indicate that the buried persistent weak layers of Feb 19 and Jan 27 are still present within the top 50 to 80cm, but generally the test results have been in the moderate to hard range.

Terrain and Travel

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Avoid lee and cross-loaded terrain.
  • Pay attention to isolated alpine features as well as cross-loaded features at treeline.
  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and sun exposure.
  • Avoid sun exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong, especially if snow is moist or wet

Problems

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.

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 Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.