Warm temperatures are expected again, but should begin cooling by the end of day. Winter temps forecasted to return to the whole region by Thursday morning.
The Icefields Parkway remains closed as crews work to clear debris and restore safe passage as quickly as possible. Consult Alberta 511 for updates.
Strong winds from various directions has created easily triggerable winds slabs across the region, failing lower down in start zones.
Short-term problem with big consequences. Varied precipitation across the region, with rising freezing levels
Be cautious where the snowpack transitions from thick areas to thin areas. Recent avalanches up to size 3 have been observed on this layer. This problem encompasses multiple weak layers of facets, crusts, and basal facets from November and December.
Windslabs and wet loose produced from avalanche control along the Icefields Parkway on West and NE aspects, TL and below. Large cornices observed and with continued loading are building in the alpine, most notably on NE aspects. A previous size 3.5 deep persistent slab was triggered by a large cornice failure, which travelled through all elevations to the valley bottom.
The snowpack is undergoing a significant transition. Strong winds, warm temperatures, and mixed precipitation have created reactive wind slabs at ridgetop. At treeline and below, the snowpack is saturated, increasing the likelihood of wet slab and loose wet hazards in the region.
In the short term, the midpack may lose structural integrity—particularly in shallow areas (<100 cm)—which may activate the weak basal facet layer.
Overnight: Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries. Low -4 °C. Ridge wind SW: 20 km/h. Freezing level: 1700 metres.
Wednesday: Cloudy with sunny periods. High -4 °C. Ridge wind W: 25 km/h gusting to 50 km/h. Freezing level: 1600 metres.
Thursday: A mix of sun and cloud. Low -11 °C, High -6 °C. Ridge wind NW: 15-30 km/h. Freezing level at valley bottom.
