Winds are picking up—Watch for fresh wind slabs and loading on lee slopes as you travel through exposed terrain
Thanks to all the MIN posters for the information - keep it coming!
The forecast region received 20-50 cm of settled storm snow over the weekend, with the deepest amounts in Lake Louise and Yoho. With increased wind values forecast for Wednesday and plenty of available snow to transport, we expect new wind slab development on lee aspects at upper elevations.
20-50 cm settled storm snow over the weekend could still be moved around by an increase in wind or a human trigger
A few small natural avalanches up to size 1 were observed on Tuesday in steep alpine terrain. These new slabs appeared to be freshly formed wind slabs failing on a mid-storm interface.
20-50 cms of settling storm snow overlays a variety of surfaces and appears to be bonding for now. The lower snowpack is generally well-settled with no significant weak layers; however, a rain crust does exist below ~2300 m. Overall, early-season travel conditions are good at higher elevations, with treeline snow depths of 70–100 cm.
Unsettled weather is expected through Friday, with only a trace of snow accumulation. Winds will be slightly elevated—reaching the moderate range at ridgecrest on Wednesday—before dropping back to light for the remainder of the week. Temperatures will remain seasonal (below freezing) before falling to around –20°C over the weekend.
Click here for Environment Canada links to weather tables for the region.
