Avalanche forecast

South Rockies

Dec 2 – 3, 2013Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
4 · High
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
3 · Considerable
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Highlights

Storm slabs are expected to vary in depth across the region. Danger ratings are for areas that received more than 30 cm of new snow during the storm. Consider these ratings a bit high if your area has less new snow.

Avalanche problems

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely - Very Likely
    Size
    2–5
    Suspect that there is a touchy to very touchy storm slab above the recent surface weakness. No information about how deep this storm slab is or how variable it is.

Confidence

Poor - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

Overnight and Tuesday: Precipitation overnight continuing in the morning as the Arctic ridge moves Southward and collides with the moist Pacific low. Temperatures trending colder as the Arctic air invades and Northeast winds build. Becoming sunny in the afternoon.Wednesday:Cold and clear.Thursday:Cold and clear.

Avalanche Summary

The new storm snow is expected to slide easily on the old surface weak layers. Expect easy triggering with light additional loads applied. Natural avalanches may have released during the storm.

Snowpack Summary

A storm slab has developed above the existing shallow weak snowpack. We don't know how deep the storm slab is due to a lack of observations from the field. I expect that there is 10-40 cm of new snow depending on your location in the region. This variability is due to the convective nature of the recent storm. The new storm slab is not expected to bond well to the old surface weak layers of crusts, wind slabs, and surface hoar.

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