Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 30th, 2019–May 1st, 2019

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

Little Yoho.

Although we are well into spring, persistent problems continue to plague the snowpack. Tuesday we observed two large avalanches on this layer.

Weather Forecast

Daily convective buildup is forecasted for the remainder of the week. Morning will likely have more stable weather and as the day progresses expect to see small storm cells roll through bringing wind and precipe. We should see a warming trend into the weekend with valley temps reaching plus ten by Friday.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 40cm of snow fell over the weekend at higher elevations. Strong winds during the storm have redistributed much of new snow at higher elevations. Cooler temps have promoted faceting in the upper snowpack creating a persistent interface where the new snow overlays previous crusts. Be cautious in areas where newly form slab overlays a crust.

Avalanche Summary

Our field team today observed two large avalanches (size2/2.5) in the Observation Peak area. Both avalanches released from south west aspects in the alpine. The slabs where remotely triggered by skiers and initiated on the persistent problem. Although no other avalanches were observed today, the persistent problem was certainly active in this area.

Confidence

Problems

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.

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.