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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 6th, 2020–Dec 7th, 2020

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

Regions

Jasper.

Winter is coming! Expect up to 25cm of new snow starting to fall Monday evening and continuing through late Tuesday afternoon.

Weather Forecast

Temperatures returning to seasonal normals. Snow beginning Sunday night and continuing through to Tuesday evening. 25cm of snowfall is forecasted for the next 2 days. Winds will increase and come from the SW during this period

Snowpack Summary

Previous winds have stripped the snow from all fetches in the alpine and open tree line creating slabs and cross loading in gullies and depressions. Warm temperatures have resulted in a melt freeze crust on solar aspects. Snow depth at tree line is up to 90cm with the Nov 4 crust down 50cm. Basal weakness continue to develop.

Avalanche Summary

Several wind slab avalanches have been observed on alpine NE aspects up to size 2 in the Jasper townsite area. No other avalanches observed or reported. No road patrols today

Confidence

Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain on Tuesday

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.

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.