Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 29th, 2021–Apr 30th, 2021

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

Banff Yoho Kootenay.

A poor freeze overnight Thursday extending above tree line elevations will place us in the 'All Melt, No Freeze' Spring conditions scenario through Friday.

Click the "More Spring Conditions details" link for more info.

Weather Forecast

Freezing levels area approaching 2600m Thursday afternoon and are expected to remain at a similar level through the night as SW winds increase to strong. Clearing, with some associated cooling, early Friday morning holds the best potential for a weak freeze at treeline elevations. Light snowfall at treeline elevations is expected Friday afternoon .

Snowpack Summary

Poor overnight crust recovery, weak crusts on all aspects up to 2000m with moist snow up to 2500m with light rain in some areas Thursday. 10-20cm of settled dry snow in high Northerly terrain. Isolated pockets of wind slab may exist in the alpine.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanche activity observed or reported for the past few days however temperatures are climbing higher than they have been for a week. We had limited observations today with limited visibility and no field trip.

Confidence

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.

Wet Slabs

Wet Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) that is generally moist or wet when the flow of liquid water weakens the bond between the slab and the surface below (snow or ground). They often occur during prolonged warming events and/or rain-on-snow events. Wet Slabs can be very unpredictable and destructive.

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.