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

Dec 21st, 2015–Dec 22nd, 2015

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

Regions

South Rockies.

We would love more observations to make our forecast better! Post yours to the MIN.

Confidence

Low - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

An unsettled flow continues to affect the southern part of the province, bringing flurries and cold temperatures. Models disagree on snowfall amounts, but generally show light amounts. Winds are generally light, but may increase with the passage of frontal systems. The freezing level stays near surface. For more details check out https://avalanche.ca/weather.

Avalanche Summary

Wind slabs were reported to have developed at all elevations on Monday, but at the time of writing no avalanches have been reported.

Snowpack Summary

The series of recent storms has left us with around 50-80 cm new snow. Strong to extreme SW winds on Sunday created wind slabs at all elevations, which may now be buried by Sunday night's bonus snowfall. Recent storm snow overlies a hard rain crust. A weak layer from early December consisting of crust, surface hoar, and/or facets and is typically down around a metre. Around 20-30 cm below this interface is a rain crust from mid-Nov with a thick layer of facets below it. Both the early-Dec and mid-Nov layers are probably being capped at treeline and below by the more recent rain crust layer. However, these layers may still be reactive to heavy triggers such as cornices or smaller avalanches stepping down. 

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.