Avalanche Forecast

Issued: Mar 1st, 2013 4:18PM

The alpine rating is high, the treeline rating is high, and the below treeline rating is considerable. Known problems include Storm Slabs.

mike eder, Parks Canada

Jasper.

Additional snow is expected overnight on Friday with another pulse to arrive on Saturday night. Pay attention to overhead hazards and use conservative travel routes to avoid avalanche terrain.

Summary

Weather Forecast

The warm, heavy snowfallÂ combined with moderate to strong Southwest winds is expected to continue through the night bringing additional snow to the Icefields area. On Saturday, the snow eases up during the day and will increase again overnight. A cold front will follow sometime on Sunday with colder temperatures and clearing skies.

Snowpack Summary

Between 10 - 30cm of warm heavy snow has fallen across the region with heavier deposits South of the icefields. Strong Southwest winds will redistribute this snow onto lee aspects making another slab over the previous snow surface. These heavier slabs may provide sufficient load for a slide to step down into deeper weak layers.

Avalanche Summary

Visibility is presently obscured along Highway 93, but one avlanche could be heard around the rampart creek hostel area. At lower elevations up to 1600m numerous loose snow avalanches released along the Highway corridor south of the Columbia Icefields.Â The heavy snow and possible rain may produce additional loose avalanches in the valley bottoms.

Confidence

Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain on Saturday

Problems

Storm Slabs

The heavy snow combined with strong Southwest winds will build slabs on lee aspects. These will be easy to trigger and will have enough load to perhaps step down into deeper weak layers in the snowpack.

Avoid all avalanche terrain during periods of heavy loading from new snow, wind, or rain.

Aspects: North, North East, East, South East.

Elevations: All elevations.

Likelihood

Likely

Expected Size

1 - 3

Valid until: Mar 2nd, 2013 4:00PM