Regions
Banff Yoho Kootenay.
An increase in wind and temperature starting Wednesday will elevate the avalanche danger. There is concern that the Jan 6 layer could 'wake-up' because of these changes. Plan your trips accordingly.
Weather Forecast
The wind is expected to increase significantly on Tuesday. This will transport the recent storm snow in lee areas creating wind slabs. Additionally, temperatures are expected to rise to near zero by Tuesday afternoon. The dual inputs of increasing wind and rising temperatures will raise the danger rating to considerable on Wednesday.
Snowpack Summary
Snow pack test today reveals 20cm of settled storm snow sitting on top of the Jan 6th interface at the Sunshine Village study plot. Below this, a predominantly faceted snowpack exists. The height of snow was 135cm and no significant shears were noted during compression tests.
Avalanche Summary
No avalanches observed or reported today.
Confidence
Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain on Wednesday
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.