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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

May 5th, 2019–May 6th, 2019

Alpine
Below Threshold.
Treeline
Below Threshold.
Below Treeline
Below Threshold.
Alpine
Below Threshold.
Treeline
Below Threshold.
Below Treeline
Below Threshold.
Alpine
Below Threshold.
Treeline
Below Threshold.
Below Treeline
Below Threshold.

Regions

Little Yoho.

Regular avalanche forecasts are now finished. Use our weather stations, the ACMG Mountain Condition Reports, and Mountain Information Network to stay up to date on current conditions, or call Visitor Safety at 403-762-1470 with specific questions.

Weather Forecast

Go to www.avalanche.ca/weather/forecast for the current weather forecast.

Snowpack Summary

New snow instabilities are generally settling rapidly and alpine N aspects remain cold and dry. Concern remains for alpine solar aspects where April facets between crusts have been reactive in the past week. Treeline and below a spring melt freeze snowpack exists with crusts in the AM and increasing hazard in the PM depending on temperatures.

Avalanche Summary

As of May 5th, loose wet avalanches with daytime warming on solar aspects and lower elevations, and a few wind and storm slabs in the alpine up to size 2 were reported in the past week. Increasing temperatures in the next weeks will lead to increased avalanche avalanche activity and cornice failures especially during the hottest parts of the day.

Confidence

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 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.

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.