Crowsnest North

Wind affected terrain is the most likely place to trigger large storm slabs on Sunday.

Avoid steep, rocky, and wind-affected areas where triggering slabs is most likely.

Moderate

• We are uncertain due to a limited number of field observations.

On Friday, a few explosive triggered storm slabs up to size 2 were reported in the alpine.

Cornices are large and looming. Avoid traveling underneath them.

30 to 45 cm of recent snow and strong southwest winds have formed storm slabs that will be most reactive in wind-affected terrain.

The recent snow sits on a 3 to 10 cm thick crust on all aspects. The thickness of the crust depends on elevation.

A persistent weak layer of surface hoar and/or crust may be found around 70 to 100 cm down. Human triggered avalanches are unlikely on this layer in areas where a supportive crust exists below the recent snow.

In shallow snowpack areas, depth hoar (large facets) can be found near the bottom of the snowpack.

Saturday Night
Partly cloudy. 0 to 3 cm of snow. 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -15 °C.

Sunday
Sunny. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -13 °C.

Monday
Mostly cloudy. 70 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level rising to 2100 m.

Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 80 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 3 °C. Freezing level rising to 2500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Avoid steep, rocky, and wind-affected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
• Expect slab conditions to change drastically as you move into wind-exposed terrain.
• Use ridges or ribs to avoid areas of wind-loaded snow.
• Cornice failures could trigger large and destructive avalanches.