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 3rd, 2022–Feb 4th, 2022

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

Jasper.

Steady SW winds building ongoing slab problem; previous reverse loading means problem may exist on all aspects.

Weather Forecast

Friday: Cloudy with scattered flurries. 5 cm. Temp: High -8 °C. Wind SW: 20 km/h gusting to 50 km/h.

Saturday: Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries. Trace. Temp: Low -10 °C, High -7 °C. Wind SW: 20 km/h gusting to 55 km/h.

Sunday: Cloudy with sunny periods. Nil. Temp: Low -11 °C, High -8 °C. Wind SW: 20 km/h.

Snowpack Summary

New snow with previous N and present SW winds building slabs in alpine and tree line lee features. Varied wind effect at all elevations. Snowpack is facetted and complex. Buried surface hoar found in isolated locations; December facet layers down 20-40cm still reactive in tests.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches reported from road patrol today. Explosive control Wednesday produced several avalanches up to size 1 dry loose and size 2 wind slab Medicine lake area.

Confidence

Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain on Friday

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.