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 8th, 2025–Mar 9th, 2025

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

Regions

South Rockies, Akamina, Crowsnest North, Crowsnest South, Elkford East, Elkford West.

While the persistent slab activity is slowing, it is not gone.

It is less likely to be triggered in areas where a surface crust exists.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Thurs: No new avalanches were reported, but snowpack tests done by our field team east of Elkford suggest that the persistent weak layer is still triggerable by humans.

Looking forward: Avalanches on buried weak layers may be difficult to trigger, but if one is triggered, it is likely to be large and destructive.

Snowpack Summary

5-10 cm of recent snow covers a widespread melt-freeze crust up to 20 cm thick that exists at all elevations on slopes facing the sun, and on all aspects below treeline. Westerly winds formed slightly deeper, denser pockets in leeward terrain. These wind slabs are likely starting to bond to the crust below.

The main feature of the region's overall shallow snowpack is a persistent weak layer of surface hoar or facets from late January now buried 40 to 80 cm deep. This layer was the cause of several avalanches last week.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Mainly cloudy, with up to 2 mm mixed precipitation in the west of the region. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level 2000 m.

Sunday

Partly cloudy with isolated flurries beginning late in the day. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level 2000 m.

Monday

Mainly cloudy, with up to 10 cm of snow overnight. 10 to 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Freezing level rising to 1500 m through the day.

Tuesday

Mainly cloudy, with up to 4 cm new snow, primarily in the west of the region. 10 to 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level rising to 1500 m through the day.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • In times of uncertainty, conservative terrain choices are our best defense.
  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind-affected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
  • Be mindful that deep instabilities are still present and have produced recent large avalanches.

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.