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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 14th, 2020–Nov 15th, 2020

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

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay.

West winds are moving snow in the alpine right now. Both the frequency and size of natural avalanches are expected to increase for Sunday. There is very little snow below 2200m: be very cautious with early season hazards.

Weather Forecast

An additional 10 cm of expected snow will bring storm amounts up to 25 cm Sunday.  Saturday's moderate, gusting strong, alpine winds will shift to the SW and increase. A slight increase in temperatures is also expected with Alpine temperatures ranging from -10 to -14C.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 15m of snow in the past 48hrs. Moderate West winds are building wind slabs in alpine terrain. The early Nov crusts exist up to 2400m in the Icefields Parkway area and found to be up to 2700m in the Sunshine area. This crust is 5-10cm thick and found 20-40cm above the ground. At tree line the snowpack is 40-80cm with very little below this .

Avalanche Summary

Limited visibility with wind transport evident in the alpine today. A sz 1.5 loose dry avalanche was observed out of the start zone for one of the Dolomite Peak paths. Lake Louise ski area reported several natural slabs to sz 1.5 in their ridge crest terrain resulting from the winds in the past 24 hrs.

Confidence

Due to the number of field observations

Problems

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.

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.