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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 27th, 2019–Apr 28th, 2019

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

Regions

Jasper.

A strong upslope storm has delivered heavy snowfall to the East and built windslabs in unusual places.

Weather Forecast

The low pressure center that drove Saturdays upslope moves into the prairies allowing cool air from the North East to establish itself over our area.

Sunday: Clear periods in the AM, with increasing cloud and flurries in the PM. Treeline temperature: Low -11 C, High -6 C. Ridge wind light northeast (gusting moderate). Freezing level: 1500 metres.

Snowpack Summary

A strong upslope has delivered over 30cm of snow in the front ranges, and up to 20cm in the Icefields region. This new snow is being reverse loaded by NE winds and will overly several crusts/facet layers in the upper snowpack. Windslabs can be expected on most aspects in the alpine. A faceted layer midpack on shady alpine aspects remains a concern.

Avalanche Summary

Poor visibility today, expect an avalanche cycle is ongoing with heavy loading from new snow and wind.

Confidence

Due to the number and quality of field observations

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.