Avalanche Forecast

Issued: Feb 28th, 2016 8:08AM

The alpine rating is moderate, the treeline rating is moderate, and the below treeline rating is moderate. Known problems include Storm Slabs and Persistent Slabs.

jsmith, Avalanche Canada

Kootenay Boundary.

Hazard levels will be one step higher in areas that receive more than 15cm of snow.

Summary

Confidence

Low - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain

Weather Forecast

5-10cm of snow by Monday morning with light to moderate southwest winds and Freezing levels staying below 1500m. Kootenay Pass could receive up to 20cm Sunday/night. Expect a break in the snow on Monday with light to moderate snow on Tuesday. Winds stay generally light and Freezing levels low.

Avalanche Summary

On Saturday no new avalanches were reported in this region, but we expect this to change with Sunday's snow.

Snowpack Summary

Sunday's snow will bury the widespread surface hoar being reported up to 20mm in size on shady aspects at all elevations throughout the region. The moderate to strong winds associated with Sunday's storm will build fresh wind slabs on lee features in alpine. Cornices are large and looming. The mid February layer is down 70-100cm and is the primary layer of concern. This layer is a crust and generally well bonded to the overlying persistent slab. However, in isolated areas on northerly aspects between 1800-2100m the layer is surface hoar which means there are still a few "land mines" out there that if triggered could produce large destructive avalanches.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Expect new snow to be very reactive to human triggers once it settles into a cohesive slab.

Avoid freshly wind loaded features.>Avoid exposure to terrain traps where the consequences of a small avalanche could be serious.>Use small slopes with low consequence to test reactivity of new snow.>

Aspects: All aspects.

Elevations: All elevations.

Likelihood

Likely

Expected Size

1 - 2

Persistent Slabs

This is still a layer to keep in mind, as an avalanche on this layer could be large and destructive.

Be aware of the potential for full depth avalanches due to deeply buried weak layers.>

Aspects: All aspects.

Elevations: All elevations.

Likelihood

Unlikely - Possible

Expected Size

1 - 4

Valid until: Feb 29th, 2016 2:00PM