Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 26th, 2020–Feb 27th, 2020

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Little Yoho.

Watch locally for wind transport and slab development Thursday. Great skiing and coverage in sheltered areas.

Weather Forecast

Continued moderate W winds in the alpine Thursday with 5cm of snow. Temperatures will have highs of -7C at treeline. Additional inputs of 5cm Friday and 10+cm Saturday.

Snowpack Summary

10-20 cm of recent storm snow covers previously formed wind slabs in lee areas, and buried sun crusts on steep solar aspects. The Feb. 1 rain crust is down 20-50 cm and present below 1900 m. A dense snowpack with no significant weaknesses is present in most areas, but thin rocky areas have a faceted base.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed or reported Wednesday. Likely some wind slab formation is occurring in the high alpine.

Confidence

Wind speed and direction is uncertain on Thursday

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.