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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 20th, 2020–Mar 21st, 2020

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

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay.

The effects of solar heating should start to diminish Saturday with increasing cloud and light flurries through the weekend. Be  mindful of the small windslabs and remain cautious with thin areas.

Weather Forecast

Saturday will dawn clear at around -10C in the alpine. Friday's moderate SW winds will back off through the day Saturday while cloud increases in the afternoon to give a few flurries. Temps will be a bit cooler than Friday reaching freezing at 1500m. Similar conditions for Sunday as the winds pick back up to moderate to strong in the alpine.

Snowpack Summary

5-10cm of snow that fell Wednesday now has a suncrust on solar aspects. Widespread wind effect in the alpine from recent multidirectional winds. In shallow snowpack areas the weak basal facets remain a concern.

Avalanche Summary

Several solar triggered small loose avalanches observed Wednesday and Thursday. Otherwise, no new avalanches observed or reported.

Our observations are very limited and we appreciate your reports to the MIN.

Confidence

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.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.