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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 2nd, 2016–Mar 3rd, 2016

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

Little Yoho.

The overall snowpack is slowly improving, but Thursday should see a short-term burst of windslab action as the 25cm of fluff on the ground will be blown around by strong winds in the alpine (>70 km/hr).  Caution in immediate leeward areas.

Weather Forecast

The upper level flow puts our region back in the storm track, and a series of minor storms will cross the region over the next few days.  Most of the punch will be to the west, but expect 5-10 cm on Thursday with strong alpine winds developing through the day. Temps at treeline will remain steady at -4 to -10 all week.

Snowpack Summary

20-30 cm of recent storm snow overlies suncrust and possibly a thin layer of surface hoar (unconfirmed). Below this, the middle of the snowpack is generally well consolidated in the deep areas but expect to find windslabs forming above treeline on Thursday as the strong winds in the forecast will move the new snow around.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed other than sluffing in really steep terrain.

Confidence

Wind speed and direction is uncertain on Thursday

Problems

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.

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.