Regions
Banff Yoho Kootenay.
Tuesday afternoon looks warm with a weak freeze in the AM. If you are going out, start really early and be back before noon when the temperatures are forecasted to be at their peak!
Weather Forecast
Warm temperatures and clear skies on Tuesday with freezing levels rising to 3000m by 11 am. Tuesday night, a cold front will pass through with 5-10 mm of precipitation (some rain at lower elevations) and winds switching to the west. Wed and Thursday look to be partly cloudy with minimal precipitation and freezing levels dropping to 1500- 2000m.
Snowpack Summary
Recent strong winds have blown dry snow on N aspects into hard windslabs in exposed terrain. Cool temps have kept sheltered high elevation N aspects dry; however warm temps over the next few days will change that. Crusts on all other aspects. The basal facets remain dormant though a large cornice load or intense heat may change this.
Avalanche Summary
A few solar triggered slides off of steep solar aspects today. No other avalanches seen or reported.
Problems
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.
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.
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.