Avalanche Forecast

Human-triggered avalanches will be very likely on Saturday. Natural avalanches will likely occur in wind-loaded areas.

Ongoing snow and wind will build reactive storm slabs over the weekend. By Saturday afternoon storm totals could reach 25 to 35 cm in the Monashees and Purcells and 35 to 50 cm in the Selkirks.

The new snow will bond poorly to old surfaces, which include melt-freeze crusts on sun-exposed slopes, surface hoar or facets on shaded slopes, and wind-affected snow in exposed terrain.

The upper snowpack may contain one or more buried surface hoar layers from January. While not currently reactive, they could become a problem with the loading from this storm.

The lower snowpack is strong and bonded.

Friday Night

Cloudy with 10 to 15 cm of snow in the Monashees and Purcells and 15 to 20 cm in the Selkirks. 40 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Saturday

Mostly cloudy with 1 to 5 cm of snow. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy with 2 to 5 cm of snow. 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Monday

Mostly cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 20 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Avoid avalanche terrain during periods of heavy snowfall.
• Only the most simple non-avalanche terrain with no overhead hazard is appropriate at this time.
• Be aware of the potential for remote triggering and large avalanches due to buried surface hoar.