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

Feb 19th, 2022–Feb 20th, 2022

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

South Rockies.

Keep terrain selection conservative as storm snow accumulates. Expect the new snow to bond poorly to the old snow surface and be reactive to human triggers. 

Confidence

Moderate - We are confident the likelihood of avalanche will increase with the arrival of the forecast weather. Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain.

Weather Forecast

SATURDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with isolated flurries bringing up to 5 cm. Winds ease to light southwesterlies. Freezing levels below valley bottom. 

SUNDAY: Mostly cloudy with scattered flurries bringing another 5-10 cm of snow, light easterly winds. Freezing levels at valley bottom, alpine high of -10.

MONDAY: Mostly sunny, moderate winds from the northeast. Chance of isolated flurries. Freezing levels at valley bottom. Alpine high of -20. 

TUESDAY: Mostly sunny, light to moderate northeast winds. Chance of isolated flurries. Freezing levels at valley bottom. Alpine high of -20. 

Avalanche Summary

Avalanche activity over the past few days has been limited to small slab and loose avalanches in steep alpine terrain. With the incoming storm we could expect to see larger slabs forming at upper elevations, reactive to human triggers.

Snowpack Summary

New snow will form storm slabs at all elevations. The storm snow will bury a melt freeze crust on solar aspects at all elevations, and hard wind affected surfaces in exposed terrain. 

The snowpack below is well consolidated, with a crust/facet layer found near the bottom of the snowpack. It is currently considered dormant, but could become active later this season. Check out the forecaster blog for more information. 

Terrain and Travel

  • Use increased caution at all elevations. Storm snow is forming touchy slabs.
  • Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
  • As the storm slab problem gets trickier, the easy solution is to choose more conservative terrain.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.