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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 3rd, 2020–Feb 4th, 2020

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

Jasper.

The Icefields Parkway and the Maligne Lake road are still closed. Check 511.alberta.ca/ for updates.

Weather Forecast

Tuesday will be mostly cloudy and isolated flurries, trace amount of snow, -16 C, and Southwest winds 20 km/h. Wednesday will be bring 6 cm of snow, -16C, light gusting moderate westerly winds.

See Weather synopsis here: Avalanche Canada Mountain Weather Forecast

Snowpack Summary

50 cm snow arrived  in Jan 31 / Feb 1 with  strong winds and warm temperatures. The storm created thick storm slabs over the facetted midpack and weak basal facets and depth hoar.

Avalanche Summary

Considering the depth of new snow very little natural activity seen accept in the Wilson area.  Explosives work over the last 2 days produced inconsistent results.  Icefields area from size 1 to 3 with 50 to 100% cleanout.  Loose dry results up to size 2.5 from Medicine Slabs but nothing hitting the road.

Confidence

Due to the number and quality of field observations on Tuesday

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.