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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 3rd, 2022–Mar 4th, 2022

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

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay.

We've added a Persistent Slab problem due to the slow build of a 40cm slab sitting on top of the Feb.16 crust. Few avalanches reported yet, but this problem is worth paying attention to. Hopefully it will be short lived with the colder air arriving.

Weather Forecast

The weather pattern is changing overnight on Thursday as a ridge of high pressure brings colder, northern air down into the region. Expect flurries to taper off overnight while the temperature drops to -15 overnight in some areas. Friday will see lingering fog and temperatures from -5 to -10 and Saturday looks like a clear day. Winds light north.

Snowpack Summary

Thursday's moist surface snow will have frozen into a crust up to 2000m on solar aspects. Above 2000m, 40 cm of storm snow has solidified into a slab overlying a suncrust buried on February 16. This combination should now be watched closely, as it produces whumphs and tests indicate propagation (ECTP 21). North aspects don't hold this crust.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed or reported today, but whumphs (unstable snow) observed on Hawk Ridge in Kootenay Park on Thursday. On Wednesday in Kananaskis Country, a size 2.5 skier remote slab 40 cm deep was triggered on a SE aspect at 2500 m (ran on the Feb. 16 crust).

Confidence

Problems

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.

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.