Avalanche forecast

South Rockies

Apr 10 – 11, 2015Avalanche Canada
View on map
Archived · expired 11 years ago

Avalanche danger

Sun
Mon
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
Open full map

Highlights

Storm amounts for this region are anticipated to be light on Saturday. However, convective storm cells sometimes bring more snow than expected. Watch for thin wind slabs.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2
    New snow may get blown into fresh wind slabs on the immediate lee of ridge lines and other terrain breaks.

  • Cornices

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–4
    Large cornices at ridgetop may fail under the weight of a person. Cornices may grow further with anticipated new snow and wind, and will remain unstable, particularly during periods of warming.

Confidence

Fair - Due to the number and quality of field observations

Weather Forecast

Saturday: Light snow above 1500 m, amounts in the 1-4 cm range, with rain/drizzle below. Ridgetop winds up to 60 km/h from the southwest. Sunday: A mix of sun and cloud. Freezing level around 1500 m. Ridgetop winds around 40 km/h from the west. Monday: Cloud increasing during the day, with flurries possible in the afternoon. Freezing level around 2000 m. Ridgetop winds around 50 km/h from the southwest.

Avalanche Summary

Loose wet avalanches to size 1.5 were reported from neighboring forecast regions (Lizard-Flathead and Waterton National Park) during warm periods through this week. This kind of activity is likely to be seen in this region when the sun comes out and/or temperatures become warm. Observations are becoming more limited as we enter into spring. If you're out in the mountains, please consider posting your observations to our webpage using the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

10-20cm of recent snow overlies a widespread and supportive melt-freeze crust. In some areas, winds may have redistributed the surface snow resulting in wind slab formation in the alpine and exposed areas at treeline. Large cornices exist in the alpine and may become weak with daytime warming. The mid-March rain crust is down 35 to 70cm and has shown a good bond with snow above. Old persistent weak layers are still intact in the mid and lower snowpack and there may be potential for these layers to wake up with a big cornice fall, sustained warming and/or a significant rain event.

Regions covered