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

Feb 15th, 2019–Feb 16th, 2019

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

Regions

Jasper.

Moderate danger rating means human triggered avalanches are possible. In particular, shallow rocky areas have the potential to catch someone off guard. Evaluate snow and terrain carefully.

Weather Forecast

Saturday will be cloudy with isolated flurries, high -15 C, wind northeast 10 km/h. Sunday will be sunny with cloudy periods, nil precipitation, low -24 C, high -18 C, and wind northeast 15 km/h. A detailed mountain weather forecast is available from Avalanche Canada.

Snowpack Summary

Cold temperatures have faceted the upper snowpack, leaving no slab over a weakness down 40cm (surface hoar, facets, and/or crust).  However, the stronger mid-pack could act as a slab over weak depth hoar, which comprises the lower third of the snowpack. This is pronounced in shallow areas such as Marmot basin back-country and the Maligne range.

Avalanche Summary

No new activity noted on Friday from town to Sunwapta, with poor visibility.

Confidence

Problems

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.

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.