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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 17th, 2014–Apr 18th, 2014

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

Regions

Glacier.

Conditions can change quickly this time of year. Check out our Facebook page for insight into spring avalanche forecasting.

Weather Forecast

Today will be cloudy with flurries, possibly rain at lower elevations as freezing levels may rise to 1800m. This will taper off by Friday afternoon with temps dropping and the possibility of some sunshine in the afternoon. On Saturday, a warm and wet weather system will arrive with freezing levels rising to 2300m and strong SW winds.

Snowpack Summary

Temperatures barely dropped below zero overnight, giving a weak freeze. New snow will also soften the crust. The snowpack on solar aspects is warming to near isothermal levels, but it stills awaits a dramatic warming to lose its structural integrity.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were observed in Glacier National Park yesterday. In neighboring areas, loose wet slides on a south aspect at 1600m triggered slabs 100cm deep and ran 300m. Also in neighboring areas, cornice failures have triggered avalanches to size 2.5 on north and east aspects in the alpine.

Confidence

Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

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.