The weather will play a key role in the snow's stability. If it stays warm, low elevation areas will be avalanche prone. If it cools like it supposed to, things will tighten up and get better. This forecast assumes it will cool overnight.
Confidence
Low - Freezing levels are uncertain on Friday
Weather Forecast
Tonight: Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries or showers at low elevation. Overnight lows are expected to be -9 (likely warmer) and still windy, west winds at 45 km/hr gusting to 85. Tomorrow: Mainly cloudy. No precip. Strong winds from the west, 25km/hr gusting to 85. The freezing level is expected to rise, but so far there is no indication of that happening outside. Our confidence is low on the freezing level prediction.
Avalanche Summary
There were 3, sz1 loose wet avalanches on the canmore Hill today. Poor visibility kept the observations limited, but there were almost certainly more loose wet avalanches in low elevation terrain.
Snowpack Summary
Warm temps and rain up to 1700m has made for a wet snowpack at lower elevations. Above 1800m the snow is moist up to about 1900m. Above that the temps stayed cool enough to limit the moist snow. Tomorrow, we can expect a melt/freeze crust up to atleast1900m. At treeline the winds continued to blow around what snow it could. Windslab and settlement slabs are likely to be found in lee areas. The alpine remained cool with dry snow and some moderate wind transport.
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.
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.