Kootenay Boundary

New snow and wind will mean that storm slabs are likely to be encountered, and may be reactive to human triggering, especially in wind loaded areas.

Moderate - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain

TUESDAY NIGHT - Flurries, 5-10 cm / southwest winds, 20-40 km/h / alpine low temperature near -6 / freezing level 700 mWEDNESDAY- Cloudy with sunny periods / northwest winds, 20-30 km/h / alpine high temperature near -3 / Freezing level 1200 mTHURSDAY - Mainly cloudy / northwest winds, 20-40 km/h / alpine high temperature near -3 / freezing level 1000 m FRIDAY - Mainly cloudy / northwest winds, 40-50 km/h / alpine high temperature near -4 / freezing level 1500 m

On Monday, a few size 1 human triggered avalanches were reported on southeast aspects, and wind loaded features. On Sunday, several explosives triggered avalanches to size 2 were reported in the region at or near treeline on all aspects.On Saturday, a few natural avalanches to size 2 were reported in the region on north to northeast aspects at or near treeline. Of note, a remotely triggered (triggered from a distance) size 2.5 avalanche was reported on Saturday on a southeast aspect at 2150 m. The avalanche occurred in a terrain feature where the snowpack varied in depth from deep to shallow.

30-50 cm of recent snow has fallen in the region. Moderate to strong winds will be promoting widespread slab formation. The storm snow sits on several layers of small surface hoar (feathery crystals) and thin crusts. Recent snowpack tests suggest that the snow may be poorly bonded to these layers in some areas. The most prominent weak layer in the snowpack is layer that formed in early December and is buried approximately 70-110 cm. This layer consists of a rain crust, surface hoar, and facets (sugary snow). There have been no recent reports of avalanches on this layer, however a large load, such as a cornice fall may still have the potential to trigger large avalanches on this layer.