Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 18th, 2026–Feb 19th, 2026

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Kootenay Boundary, Purcells, Bonnington, Grohman, Kootenay Pass, Norns, Ymir, Crawford, Moyie, St. Mary, Kokanee, Retallack, Valhalla, Whatshan.

Storm snow has added load to a complex upper snowpack creating dangerous avalanche conditions.

Step-down avalanches are possible, stick to lower angle terrain with no overhead hazard.

Confidence

Moderate

We are confident that there are persistent slabs in the snowpack, but uncertain about how likely they are to trigger.

Avalanche Summary

On Tuesday there were several reports of size 2 explosives triggered, skier controlled and natural storm slab avalanches running on surface hoar buried in mid-February.

On Monday, a size 3 skier remote (triggered from a distance) avalanche was reported in the Qua area near Nelson.

Several Mountain Information Network posts describe human-triggered and remotely triggered slab avalanches failing on crusts and/or surface hoar layers down roughly 30-50 cm.

Snowpack Summary

20 to 25 cm of storm snow has buried a complex upper snowpack. This region is highly variable with similar weak layers that vary widely in depth and distribution:

On February 13th a surface hoar layer and/or a crust on solar aspects was buried.
On February 7th a surface hoar layer/crust layer (depending on aspect) was buried.
On January 26th, a surface hoar/crust layer sitting on a facet layer was buried and is down 60 to 80 cm.

This weak snowpack structure will continue to produce avalanches as storm snow settles.

The mid and lower snowpack remain well settled.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy. 2 to 4 cm of snow. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.

Thursday

Mostly cloudy. 2 to 5 cm of snow. 15-25 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Friday

Mostly sunny. 10-20 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Saturday

Mostly sunny. 20-30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
Be aware of the potential for remote triggering and large avalanches due to buried surface hoar.
Avoid exposure to overhead avalanche terrain; avalanches may run surprisingly far.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.

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.