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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 18th, 2020–Mar 19th, 2020

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

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay.

Be mindful of prolonged solar input. It can suddenly increase the sensitivity of the problems described and/or cause cornices to fail, which may also trigger these problems.

Weather Forecast

The weather looks stable for the next few days. Thursdays temperatures ranging from -4 to -12 with cloudy skies and sunny periods, and light South winds. Even the 10 day forecast looks like very little new snow thankfully (given the current health situation...).

Snowpack Summary

Sun crust on steep solar aspects. Widespread wind effect in the alpine from recent multidirectional winds with 5 cm new snow on top. On sheltered Northerly aspects there is 15-20 cm over a firm mid-pack.  In shallow snowpack areas the weak basal facets remain a concern.

Avalanche Summary

Several solar triggered small loose avalanches observed today. Otherwise, no new avalanches observed or reported on Wednesday. Our observations are very limited and we appreciate your reports to the MIN.

Confidence

Due to the number of field observations

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.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.