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

Mar 5th, 2022–Mar 6th, 2022

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.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Kananaskis.

Another beautiful day is expected for tomorrow. Watch the sun though. It packs enough of a punch to cause problems on the solar aspects. Don't forget about the crust on the sunny sides either! With intense sun, slabs will be more reactive. 

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

Morning low will be -16 with a sharp rise to -6 by 1 pm. A weak pulse of snow will blow through overnight that will give a slight dusting of snow. It looks as though the clouds will lift and most of the day will be blue for most of the day. Winds will once again be light from the north.

Avalanche Summary

Nothing new was seen today as of 12pm. Its entirely possible solar aspects had pinwheeling and possibly the odd loose dry out of steep terrain. The sun is starting to pack a punch these days. 

Snowpack Summary

Another 5cm in the last 24 hours brings recent storm snow totals to 25 to 40cm in the last few days. This recent snow remains low density below 2600m. Thin wind slabs are found in Alpine terrain, with several naturally triggered slides observed on Friday on all aspects. Solar aspects are also a concern as the Feb 19 sun crust is buried up to 40cm. This crust layer has caused several avalanches in the past few days, both natural and human-triggered.

Terrain and Travel

  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and wind exposure.
  • Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
  • Minimize exposure to sun-exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong.

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.