Regions
Banff Yoho Kootenay.
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.
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
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.