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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 8th, 2014–Jan 9th, 2014

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

Snow appears to be on the way. The week-end will have up to 39cm's of new snow by Sunday morning. Keep a critical eye on the problem areas below the new snow.

Confidence

Fair - Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain

Weather Forecast

Winds decreasing in the next 24hrs, but keeping a westerly flow (at 3000m). Temps will hold steady at the -5 range. Overnight Thursday/Friday will see a mild front pass through with a spike in the winds and 7cm's of new snow. The big news is coming Friday night. A system will arrive bringing strong to extreme winds (1500m & 3000m respectively). Right now almost 30cm's of snow is predicted to arrive with the winds. Good news!

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed.

Snowpack Summary

Trace amounts of snow today. Not enough to change anything in the snowpack though. The snowpack is largely unchanged from yesterday. Wind transport is ongoing as is the slab development in the alpine and treeline elevations. HS @ Burstall Pass 101cm. HS @ Burstall parking 73cm.

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.