Avalanche Forecast

Low - Due to the number of field observations

Expect a mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries on Tuesday and Wednesday. Ridgetop winds should be light to moderate from the southwest on Tuesday switching to light and northwesterly on Wednesday. A Pacific system will move into the region on Thursday bringing light snowfall and strong southwest winds. Freezing levels should sit at or near valley bottom for the forecast period.

No new avalanches have been reported, but this may speak to a lack of observations rather than actual conditions. Over the weekend natural and human-triggered wind slab avalanches to size 2 were reported in the neighbouring Lizard/Flathead and Waterton Regions. Similar conditions may have developed in the South Rockies region. Moving forward, natural avalanche activity should taper-off with forecast benign weather; however, wind slabs may remain sensitive to human triggering in higher elevation lee terrain.

Very light amounts of new snow fell on Sunday night and winds may have redistributed these accumulations into new wind slabs in high elevation lee terrain. The new snow overlies scoured surfaces and hard wind slabs east of Crowsnest Pass. In areas further west, recent storm snow overlies a mix of weak crystals which may lie up to 45 cm below the surface. These crystals which formed at the beginning of January consist of a hard crust on steep solar aspects, surface hoar and facets. Reactivity on this layer is more likely in areas where the overlying slab has gained cohesion through wind pressing, warming or settlement.