Kootenay Boundary

Wind slabs may be building at higher elevations where there is still dry snow. Continued warm conditions means loose wet avalanches remain a concern during the heat of the afternoon.

Fair - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain

The series of storm pulses that are hitting the south coast are currently missing the KB region as they move through the interior but this should change on Saturday. On Friday, unsettled conditions are expected and light scattered precipitation is possible. Mainly cloudy conditions are expected with the possibility of sunny breaks. Freezing levels are expected to reach around 2500m and alpine winds should be strong from the SW. On Saturday, light precipitation is expected for most of the day and models are currently showing anywhere from 10-25mm. Freezing levels are forecast to progressively drop on Saturday and could be as low as 1500m by the end of precipitation event. This means rain switching to snow at many elevations. Sunday is showing a clearing trend and a mix of sun and cloud is expected with mainly dry conditions.

On Wednesday, loose wet activity was reported from steep rocky sun-exposed slopes. Skiers were also triggering wet sluffs during the heat of the day. On Tuesday, natural loose wet avalanches to size 2 were reported. Skier-triggered avalanches up to size 1.5 were also reported. These occurred on all aspects and elevations, and were reported to have released on the mid-March crust. On Friday, loose wet avalanches are possible during the heat of the day, especially if there is rain or periods of sun. In the alpine, old wind slabs may still be reactive and new wind slabs are expected to be building with the current strong SW winds.

During the heat afternoon of the afternoon, the snow surface has been reported to be moist or wet at all elevations on solar aspects and up to 2000m on north aspects. Melt-freeze cycles are occurring at higher elevations with a weak crust forming overnight and then breaking down during the afternoon. Up to 35cm of snow sits over the mid-March rain crust which is up to 15cm thick. Reports suggest that this recent snow is generally bonding well to the crust. Older deeply buried persistent weak layers still exist in the snowpack but are no longer expected to be reactive.