Regions
Kootenay Boundary.
New snow has accumulated at upper elevations along with westerly winds. Use caution around ridge crests and lee terrain features, where deposits will be most reactive.
Confidence
Moderate - Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain
Weather Forecast
SUNDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with isolated flurries, trace accumulation / west wind, 15-30 km/h / alpine low -7 C / freezing level 1000 mMONDAY: Mix of sun and cloud and isolated flurries / west wind, 10-15 km/h / alpine high -1 C / freezing level 1700 mTUESDAY: Cloudy with clear periods and isolated flurries / west wind, 15-35 km/h / alpine high 0 C / freezing level 2000 mWEDNESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud / west wind, 15 gusting to 50 km/h / alpine high +3 C / freezing level 2300 m
Avalanche Summary
Late in the day Sunday, small wind slab pockets were reactive to skier traffic.On Wednesday, wind slabs in lee features were reactive to explosives.On Tuesday, wind and storm slabs up to size 1 were reactive to skier traffic on sun affected slopes in the alpine.
Snowpack Summary
Around 15 cm new snow accumulated into Sunday, westerly wind are redistributing snow at upper treeline and higher. The new snow adds to last weeks snowfall totalling 15-30 cm over a crust on most aspects. On high alpine polar aspects, the underlying snowpack is settled and dry.Below treeline snow is disappearing rapidly.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.