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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 9th, 2015–Apr 10th, 2015

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

Regions

South Rockies.

Warm temperatures may get locked in as clouds roll in later on. Watch for conditions that change with aspect, elevation and time of day.For details on how we issue Spring Danger Ratings, check out the Spring Changes Forecaster Blog here.

Confidence

Fair - Timing or intensity of solar radiation is uncertain on Friday

Weather Forecast

Friday: Cloud cover building through the day, flurries possible. Freezing level around 2300 m, southwesterly ridgetop winds increasing from light in the morning to around 40 km/h in the afternoon. 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.

Avalanche Summary

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.Loose wet avalanches to size 1.5 were reported from neighboring forecast regions (Lizard-Flathead and Waterton National Park) on Tuesday and Wednesday. This kind of activity is likely to be seen in this region through Friday, although the intensity may diminish just a little on account of less solar radiation and slightly cooler temperatures.

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.

Problems

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.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.