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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 4th, 2024–Mar 5th, 2024

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

Regions

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

⚠️Dangerous avalanche conditions⚠️

Stick to low-angle terrain and be mindful of overhead hazard. Human-triggered and remote-triggered avalanches remain likely.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Numerous natural, skier, and explosive-triggered avalanches up to size 3.5 have been a daily occurrence since last week. Several of these avalanches have failed on or scrubbed down to the crust/facet layer buried early in February.

Snowpack Summary

Over 100 cm of snow has accumulated over the last week in most areas. This new snow may sit atop various weak layers, including surface hoar in wind-sheltered terrain, and a thin melt-freeze crust on sun-exposed slopes

A widespread crust with faceted grains above, formed in early February is buried approximately 100 to 200 cm deep. This layer continues to produce many concerning avalanches across the province.

The remainder of the snowpack below the crust is generally well-settled and strong.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

Mostly cloudy with 0 to 15 cm of snow. 10 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

Tuesday

Mix of sun and cloud with 0 to 2 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

Wednesday

Sunny. 10 to 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

Thursday

Sunny. 10 to 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Conservative terrain selection is critical, choose only well supported, low consequence lines.
  • Keep in mind that human triggering potential persists as natural avalanching tapers off.
  • Remote triggering is a concern, watch out for adjacent and overhead slopes.
  • Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.

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.

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.