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

Mar 4th, 2014–Mar 5th, 2014

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

Regions

Little Yoho.

Fantastic skiing can be found in the region! Pick terrain carefully, hazard is building with new snow and wind.  We continue to have low confidence in how well the Feb 10th layer is bonding. LP

Weather Forecast

Another 15 cm forecasted by the end of Wednesday and 5 cm for Thursday.  Winds forecasted to be moderate SW with strong gusts. Snow will end Thursday evening and warm temperatures are forecasted for the weekend.  More snow and wind will add to the slab development and increase the avalanche hazard.

Snowpack Summary

20 cm of snow over the past 2 days.  New wind & storm slabs, generally 30 cm thick, are reactive to skier triggering.  50-80 cm of snow sits on the Feb10th layer (facets, surface hoar, and on solar aspects a sun crust). Tests show moderate hard results with potential to propagate. Some whumphs on this layer today. No shears in the basal layers.

Avalanche Summary

Several loose avalanches occurred today in steep terrain. Ski hill forecasters reported ski cutting several soft-hard wind slabs to size 1.5. One size 1.5 skier accidental was reported on the weekend on an E aspect at 2350m near Bow Summit. It failed on the Feb 10th layer.  Poor visibility today. Activity will increase with snow & wind forecasted.

Confidence

Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain

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.

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.

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.