Avalanche forecast

Waterton Lakes

Mar 17 – 20, 2019Parks Canada
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Archived · expired 8 years ago

Avalanche danger

Tue
Wed
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
4 · High
Below
3 · Considerable
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Highlights

Spring is here with a bang! Avalanche activity will continue to increase with the temperatures. If you choose to travel in avalanche terrain be sure to start and end your day early and avoid overhead hazard.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2
    Wind slabs formed on Thursday may still be reactive at higher elevations.

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Very Likely - Certain
    Size
    1–2
    Loose avalanches are either running on hard bed surfaces, or entraining the faceted lower snowpack and running larger than normal.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1.5–3
    There remains a concern for deep weak layers in thin snowpack areas. Rapidly warming temperatures and solar radiation have the potential to wake them up.

Weather Forecast

Get your hawaiian shirt out and lather on that sunscreen! Expect light winds and increasing temperatures through the forecast period with little to no overnight freeze. Alpine Highs will be in the 5 degree range, while in town it will reach 12. The clear skies and strong March sun will work to further increase the temperatures on solar aspects.

Snowpack Summary

Wind slabs formed on Thursday and Friday and loose snow in sheltered areas are sitting on a sun crust on steep south aspects, facets in sheltered areas, and hard wind affected surfaces everywhere else. The lower snowpack remains weak and facetted, and as the warm temperatures continue there is a possibility this layer could produce large avalanches

Avalanche Summary

A number of Size 2 loose avalanches were observed on Mt. Bertha and along the Akamina Parkway over the past 2 days. They entrained a substantial part of the facetted snowpack in some areas, making them larger than one might expect. In the Castle Mountain region, there were reports of Size 3 avalanches in the past week on layers deep in the snowpack

Confidence

Regions covered