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

Jan 13th, 2021–Jan 16th, 2021

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

Regions

Waterton Lakes.

UPDATED WEDNESDAY MORNING

Warm temperatures are bringing much of the precipitation from this storm as rain in eastern areas of the park, which could trigger large natural avalanches. Avoid overhead hazard, and make conservative terrain choices.

Weather Forecast

Wednesday: 20-30cm of snow by Wednesday morning with strong to extreme SW winds. Freezing levels will likely peak around 2000m early in they morning before dropping to valley bottom by the afternoon.

Thursday: Clear skies, winds easing off and switching to N. Freezing levels at valley bottom

Friday: Mainly cloudy with strong W winds, alpine high -6

Snowpack Summary

Expect to find at least 30cm of new snow redistributed by strong SW winds, with wet snow freezing into a crust near the surface below 2000m. Upper elevations are heavily wind affected, and new windslabs will be found in lee areas. The Dec 9th crust can be found down 70-100cm at Cameron Lake. Areas east of the divide hold a thin & faceted snowpack.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed as of Tuesday afternoon, but the brunt of the storm is expected overnight into Wednesday morning.

Confidence

Freezing levels are uncertain

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.

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.