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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 19th, 2024–Feb 20th, 2024

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Lizard-Flathead, Flathead, Lizard.

Continue practicing safe travel habits and group management.

Consider the consequences of a small avalanche or any fall before committing to large features.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were reported at the time of publishing on Monday.

On Friday and Saturday near Fernie, a couple of small (size 1) rider-triggered wind slab avalanches were reported.

Snowpack Summary

Alpine and open treeline terrain is generally wind-affected. In wind sheltered areas, 30 to 60 cm of settling snow sits on the 10-20 cm thick, strong, rain crust that formed to mountain tops in early February. Weak, sugary crystals (facets) are starting to form above this crust.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

Mostly cloudy. 1-5 cm of snow expected. Light southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline around -4 °C. Freezing level to 1000 m.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy. 5-10 cm of snow expected. Light southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline around -1 °C. Freezing level to 1500 m.

Wednesday

Mostly cloudy. 1-5 cm of snow expected. Light southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level rising to 1500 m. Treeline high around -1 °C.

Thursday

Mostly cloudy. 1-2 cm of snow expected. Light west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around 0°C. Freezing level at valley bottom overnight, rising to 1600 m through the day.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Keep in mind the crust offers an excellent bed surface for avalanches.
  • Even a small avalanche can be harmful if it pushes you into an obstacle or a terrain trap.

Problems

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.