Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Mar 3rd, 2016 8:23AM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Storm Slabs.
jlammers,
Avalanche Canada
The timing and intensity of snowfall forecast for Friday and Friday night is highly uncertain. Pay close attention to how much snow falls in your riding area and be prepared to back-off to simple terrain.
Summary
Confidence
Moderate - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain on Friday
Weather Forecast
Weather models are calling for 5-10cm of new snow on Friday morning with heavy snowfall (up to 35cm) on Friday night and into Saturday morning. Generally light flurries are forecast for the rest of Saturday while up to 20cm of new snow may fall between Saturday night and Sunday. Ridgetop winds on Friday will be extreme from the south, becoming light on Saturday and Sunday. Freezing levels will hover around 1500m for the forecast period.
Avalanche Summary
Natural and artificially triggered storm slab avalanche activity in the size 2-3 range was reported from across the region on Wednesday. Cornices remain large and fragile and would likely collapse under the weight of a person. While recent storm accumulations will likely gain strength over the next few days, further storm loading will spark a new round of destructive wind and storm slab avalanche activity.
Snowpack Summary
Continued snowfall and strong winds have formed reactive wind slabs on alpine and treeline features. Ongoing stormy weather has also encouraged continued cornice growth. The upper snowpack sits on a widespread crust which can be found on all but high elevation north facing slopes. The mid-pack is generally well settled.
Problems
Storm Slabs
New snow and extreme winds will form new wind slabs on Friday morning, but a juicy storm forecast for Friday night will dramatically increase the avalanche danger. Conservative terrain selection will become increasingly important throughout the day.
Be alert to conditions that change throughout the day on Friday.>Be aware of the potential for wide propagations due to the presence of hard windslabs.>Be cautious as you transition into wind affected terrain.>
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Mar 4th, 2016 2:00PM
