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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 4th, 2019–Mar 5th, 2019

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

Regions

Kootenay Boundary.

Wind slabs continue to be reactive at higher elevations. A persistent slab problem still exists and has been responsible for sporadic human-triggered avalanches.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

MONDAY NIGHT: Clear skies, moderate to strong east wind, alpine temperature -11 C.TUESDAY: Mostly clear skies, moderate southeast wind, alpine temperature -8 C.WEDNESDAY: Cloudy with light snowfall, accumulation 1 to 3 cm, light to moderate east wind, alpine temperature -8 C.THURSDAY: Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 5 to 10 cm, moderate southwest wind, alpine temperature -10 C.

Avalanche Summary

Numerous small (size 1) wind slab avalanches were reported on Monday. They were triggered naturally and by skiers. They occurred on west to northwest aspects between 1800 and 2200 m and were 10 to 30 cm deep.Also on Monday, a large (size 2) persistent slab avalanche was triggered by a snow sluff caused by a vehicle. It released on the mid-February layer described in the Snowpack Summary. It was 35 cm deep, on a southeast aspect, and at 1900 m. A similar avalanche was triggered by a skier on Saturday; check it out here.

Snowpack Summary

Strong east wind has scoured the snow surface in exposed terrain and produced wind slabs in lee and cross-loaded terrain features. In sheltered areas, soft snow may still be found. On sunny slopes, you may find moist snow during the day or otherwise a frozen melt-freeze crust.Two layers of weak and feathery surface hoar crystals are buried in the snowpack between 30 and 60 cm deep, which were buried mid-February and early-February. The layers may be associated with a melt-freeze crust on southerly aspects. These layers remain reactive in snowpack tests and have produced sporadic avalanches in the region.

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.

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.