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

Feb 6th, 2023–Feb 7th, 2023

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

Regions

Glacier.

Expect a widespread natural avalanche cycle on Tuesday.

Avoid avalanche terrain.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Avalanche activity will increase throughout the day on Tuesday as the snow continues to fall.

A widespread natural avalanche cycle occurred early Saturday morning with numerous avalanches size 2-3.5 throughout the highway corridor.

Snowpack Summary

Expect ~15cm of new snow by Tuesday morning, which adds to the 30-50cm of settling storm snow from the past 5 days. Fresh storm slabs will develop throughout the day and become increasingly reactive as the snow accumulates.

The mid-snowpack is mainly rounded grains.

The Nov 17 deep persistent layer is near the base of the snowpack and is weak. It is mainly facetted with a decomposing crust in some locations.

Weather Summary

A decent-sized storm system approaches our region Monday night and tapers off late Tuesday night. Snowfall amounts will be 35-50cm. Southwest winds will range from 30-75km/hr, temps will range from 0 to -7 and the freezing level will rise to ~1400m.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for fresh storm slabs building throughout the day.
  • Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
  • Be aware of the potential for loose avalanches in steep terrain where snow hasn't formed a slab.
  • In areas where deep persistent slabs may exist, avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks and unsupported terrain features.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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 Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.

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.