Avalanche forecast

Banff Yoho Kootenay

Apr 8 – 9, 2013Parks Canada
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Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Watch out for the strong effect of solar radiation if the sun shows itself on Tuesday!  Cornices and solar aspect slopes can lose strength quickly at this time of year.

Avalanche problems

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–2
    This layer will likely be most reactive to human triggering where it sits on a buried crust (solar aspects) or in areas that have received wind effect. We may see some natural activity on this layer when the sun comes out and destabilizes it.

Weather Forecast

Tues: A small ridge of high pressure will bring some clearing, however thin clouds will likely remain. Alpine temps -5/-7. Alpine winds light from the SW. Wed: A system approaches bringing 15-30cm with freezing levels to 2000m and moderate to strong SW alpine winds.Thurs: A clearing trend with cooling temps, and lighter winds.

Snowpack Summary

Cold temperatures have tightened the snowpack, creating a supportive crust at lower elevations. In the alpine and at treeline, convective storms have dropped 10 - 30 cm of new snow which sits on top of suncrusts on solar aspects and old facetted snow on polar aspects. In some areas, windslabs may exist, although the winds have been mostly light.

Avalanche Summary

No new naturals observed today.  Limited observations by Parks staff

Confidence

Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain on Wednesday

Regions covered