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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 30th, 2024–Mar 31st, 2024

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

Regions

Lizard-Flathead, Flathead, Lizard.

30 to 40 cm of recent snow has formed storm slabs that are reactive to human triggers, especially in wind affected terrain.

Use small low consequence slopes to test the bond of the recent snow.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Numerous rider triggered storm slab avalanches up to size 1.5 were reported on all aspects and elevations near Fernie on Friday.

Here's one example from the MIN.

Snowpack Summary

Strong solar radiation has formed a surface crust everywhere except north facing terrian at upper elevations.

30-40 cm of recent snow overlies a crust on all but north facing aspects in the alpine.

A widespread crust with facets above is down 100 to 180 cm. Steep or convex terrain features with a shallow or thin to thick snowpack at treeline and above are the places where it may still be possible to trigger this layer with large loads.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy. 30 to 40 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7° C. Freezing level valley bottom.

Sunday

Sunny. 10 to 20 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2° C. Freezing level 1800 m.

Monday

Sunny. 20 to 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 4° C. Freezing level 2600 m.

Tuesday

Sunny. 30 to 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 7° C. Freezing level 3100 m.

Check out the Mountain Weather Forecast for additional weather information.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Look for signs of instability: whumphing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, and recent avalanches.
  • Use small low consequence slopes to test the bond of the new snow.
  • Watch for changing conditions today, storm slabs may become increasingly reactive.
  • If triggered loose wet avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.
  • Cornice failure may trigger large avalanches.

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.

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.