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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 6th, 2024–Apr 7th, 2024

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

Regions

Lizard-Flathead, South Rockies, Akamina, Flathead, Lizard, Bull, Crowsnest North, Crowsnest South, Elkford East, Elkford West.

New snow and afternoon clear skies may initiate wet, loose avalanches from steep solar-facing slopes. Avoid steep, sunny slopes during periods of intense solar radiation.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

On Saturday numerous size 1 wet loose avalanches occurred on steep solar slopes.

Data is limited in this region. Please consider posting your observations to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

Roughly 20 to 25 cm of accumulated snow covers a widespread melt-freeze crust that can be found on all aspects and elevations. On solar-facing slopes, the melt-freeze crust is robust and supportive. A second crust in the upper snowpack is now down 20 to 40 cm, depending on aspect and elevation.

A persistent weak layer of facets sits on top of a second buried crust down 100 to 180 cm. This layer is unlikely to be human-triggered in areas where a thick crust above the weak layer is present.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries, 5 to 10 cm. 20 to 25 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5° C.

Sunday

Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries, clearing in the afternoon, 2 to 4 cm. 15 to 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3° C. Freezing level 1800 m.

Monday

Mostly sunny. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2° C. Freezing level 2000 m.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy, scattered flurries 2 to 4cm, 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeleine temperature -2° C. Freezing level 2000 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.
  • The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.

Problems

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.

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.