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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 20th, 2020–Nov 21st, 2020

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

Regions

Jasper.

Stay clear of wind loaded lee features and watch for hidden early season hazards. Don't get surprised, we have a long season ahead.

We appreciate your observations, please report on the MIN network if you have the opportunity

Weather Forecast

Tonight: Accumulation: 4 cm. Alpine temperature: Low -10 C. Ridge wind southwest: 15 km/h gusting to 50 km/h. Freezing level at valley bottom.

Saturday: Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries. Precip: Trace. Alp temp: High -9 C. Ridge wind SW: 15-35 km/h.

Sunday: Precip: Nil. Alp temp: Low -14 C, High -9 C. wind SW: 10 km/h.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 40cm of new low density snow in the past 48 hours.The snowpack is ~100cm at treeline. The Nov. 4th rain crust up to 2600m depending on location, and is up to 55cm deep. Continued wind slab development on N and W aspects ridgetop down into treeline. Old wind slabs buried in exposed terrain that sit on the Nov 4th crust continue to be reactive

Avalanche Summary

Several natural wind slab avalanches in the alpine on north aspects have been observed in the Jasper and Bald hills region over the past 24 hours. No new avalanches observed in the Icefields region today. Observations were limited to treeline and below.

Confidence

Due to the quality of field observations 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.

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.