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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 8th, 2019–Nov 9th, 2019

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

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay.

Harsh weather today consisting of strong SW winds and rain to 2500 m. Few avalanches over the day, but things should improve as winds ease, temps cool, and precipitation ends Sunday morning.

Weather Forecast

Treeline temperatures should cool to just below zero and winds will ease to moderate from the SW through through tonight and Saturday. Only light snow is forecasted for Saturday. Another hit of snow is forecasted for Sunday as the arctic air moves in causing temperatures to plummet to -15C through the day. We should see an improving trend.

Snowpack Summary

Warm temperatures & rain have left moist surface snow to 2500 m. Treeline snow depths range from 50-70 cm deep (up to 110 cm in lee areas). The October crust in the lower snowpack has been the failure in recent skier involvements.

Avalanche Summary

Recent explosive control triggered windslabs to size 2.0. One explosive triggered slab on Mt. Stephan, stepped down to near glacial ice resulting in a size 2.5 avalanche. Earlier this week there were 2 skier triggered avalanches (see the MIN). Today, a few loose wet avalanches to size 1.5 were observed in the Little Yoho region (Mt Denis climbs)..

Confidence

Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain

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.