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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 6th, 2019–Apr 7th, 2019

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
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

South Rockies.

A trace of snow may fall Saturday night into Sunday, but that is expected to have little impact on avalanche hazard. Continue to minimize exposure to steep slopes as temperatures warm through the day, especially in areas with fresh snow.

Confidence

Moderate - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain on Tuesday

Weather Forecast

The weather models are having a pretty tough time getting a handle on the current pattern, but it doesn't look like much snow is going to make it to the South Rockies until possibly Tuesday. Still, take the wind and precipitation values with a grain of salt.SATURDAY NIGHT: Freezing level around 1500 m, strong southwest wind, trace of snow possible.SUNDAY: Scattered cloud cover, freezing level rising to 2000 m, moderate to strong southwest wind, trace of snow possible at upper elevations.MONDAY: Scattered clouds in the morning building to overcast in the afternoon, freezing level around 2100 m, light variable wind, trace of snow possible at upper elevations.TUESDAY: Overcast, freezing level around 1800 m, light to moderate west/southwest wind, 5 to 20 cm of snow possible at upper elevations.

Avalanche Summary

No significant avalanche activity to report from the last few days.

Snowpack Summary

Wet flurries and rain have sprinkled a spring snowpack and it looks like that trend will continue into the weekend, but there is still some reasonably good riding to be found. During the heat of the day, especially under direct sun, the snow surface becomes moist or wet almost everywhere. The exception being high elevation north facing features. With spring conditions, the avalanche hazard will fluctuate greatly depending on the strength of the overnight re-freeze and how quickly the snowpack is warmed up.Steep, north facing, alpine terrain may still hold a cold, dry and wind affected snowpack where a well settled slab rests on weak facets (sugary snow). Although unlikely, human triggering of persistent slabs on this layer may still be possible, especially in rocky alpine terrain with a shallow or highly variable depth snowpack.Below treeline the snowpack is becoming isothermal.

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.