North Columbia

Monday afternoon brings a pause between storms.

Storm slabs built up over the preceding days are expected to remain triggerable, especially in wind-loaded terrain features.

On Thursday

• A naturally triggered size 2.5 avalanche was observed in the Northern Cariboos.

On Wednesday

• Numerous loose dry sluffs out of extreme terrain were observed southwest of Valemount. They were up to size 2 and likely triggered by wind or sun.

Looking forward

• With new snow and moderate wind in the forecast, we can expect that triggering slabs will remain possible to likely on Monday.

Moderate

• Uncertainty is due to how quickly the snowpack will recover and gain strength.

Approximately 25–60 cm of snow has fallen recently across the region, with an additional 2–10 cm expected by Monday afternoon.

Forecast moderate southwesterly winds will redistribute the recent storm snow, continuing to build slabs that are likely to be deeper and more reactive on wind-loaded lee slopes near ridgetops.

The prominent mid-December crust is buried up to 110 cm deep and extends to 2200 m. Triggering the crust is considered unlikely, except with large loads or in thin snowpack areas.

Sunday Night
Mostly cloudy. 2 to 10 cm of snow. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Monday
Mix of sun and clouds. 0 to 5 cm of snow in the morning. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -11 °C.

Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Wednesday
Mostly cloudy. 3 to 10 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Use increased caution at all elevations. Storm snow is forming touchy slabs.
• Avoid freshly wind-loaded terrain features.
• Start on smaller terrain features and gather information before committing to bigger terrain.