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 31st, 2021–Apr 1st, 2021

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

Tomorrow could be a Jekyll and Hyde kind of day: Sunny and clear to start with flurries and gusty winds by mid afternoon. If doing a longer trip, plan to finish early.

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

Tomorrow will start out nice, but flurries will move in by early afternoon. We'll only see 2-3cm's, a mere dusting as they say. The winds will be a little gusty as the flurries roll through, but nothing a seasoned Kananaskis User will even notice. Ridge top winds will be steady at 30-40km/hr from the SW. As for temperatures, the daytime high is 0 degrees. Expect strong solar input for the morning.

Avalanche Summary

A few loose dry up to sz1.5 out of steep terrain. Also, a more notable sz2 slab on an east aspect.

Snowpack Summary

The recent storm snow of up to 30cm remains dry on northerly aspects, but was moist on the solar side by midday. By morning expect snow on SE through W aspects to have a surface crust. At treeline and below the recent snow is bonding well, but in the Alpine there is a different story. Wind slabs are evident on all aspects except west. The natural avalanche cycle is tapering off, but loaded slopes in the Alpine are still in a human-triggering phase.

Terrain and Travel

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Avoid sun exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong, especially if snow is moist or wet
  • Avoid lee and cross-loaded terrain.
  • Avoid steep convex slopes.
  • Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the crust.
  • Cornices become weak with daytime heating or solar exposure.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.