The ongoing storm is expected to add 13-16 cm at Banff Sunshine and around 4-5 cm at Lake Louise by Friday morning, with the deepest moisture focused on Alberta.
Confidence is highest from Sunday afternoon through Monday evening, when the individual models line up best on timing and on a colder snow-level drop. They converge on snow reaching all elevations across Alberta and staying below base at Kicking Horse and Big White.
The first wave is underway Friday and stays most productive through Saturday for the Alberta Rockies, with guidance tightly clustered on onset timing but looser on how far west the better snowfall bands reach.
When an earthquake in 2002 struck in a remote pocket of Alaska, the shock was the strongest ever recorded in the interior of the state. But, miraculously, an oil pipeline that crossed directly over the fault line was unscathed. Engineers behind the design of the 800 mile system were prepared. Knowing the high likelihood of seismic activity along the route, which bisected the Denali fault, they constructed sections where the pipeline rested on rail girders, allowing it to sway and shear without snapping.
Mirko Bibic emphasized the initiative, stating, "To do it right here, starting in B.C., is a testament to all the attributes that British Columbia has in terms of the natural resources of hydroelectric power, the innovation mindset..."
Lightkeepers have a record of being perfect on their timing, said Jim Abram, a former president of the lightkeepers union. If they ever miss a report, it's for an emergency.
