Avalanche forecast

Kootenay Boundary

Feb 26 – 27, 2015Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Sat
Sun
Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

We could see a dusting of snow on Friday. Not enough to raise avalanche danger, but maybe it will improve snow quality a little.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    3–6
    While unlikely to be human triggered, be aware that there are still deeply buried weak layers in the snowpack. If triggered, the resulting avalanche would be large and deadly.

Confidence

Good - The weather pattern is stable

Weather Forecast

A weak trough of low pressure will bring some cloud and a chance of flurries on Friday. Generally we’re looking at 2-5 cm with a snow line between valley bottom and 800 m. The ridge of high pressure rebuilds for the weekend resulting in mainly sunny skies. The freezing level is around 600-1000 m on Saturday and little over 1000 m on Sunday. Winds are generally light or moderate from the NW-NE.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanche activity was reported on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Snowpack Summary

The most prominent feature in the snowpack is the thick upper crust. This crust is supportive all the way to ridge crest and is effectively "capping" the snowpack, keeping riders from tickling any deeper weak layers. Surface hoar on this crust is a widespread phenomenon. On solar aspects the proud crust is on the surface (softening during the day), and on shadier aspects there may be 5 - 20 cm of settled storm snow on it. There are still weak layers in the snowpack that we'll continue to monitor, but for now these layers are dormant. We would likely need significant warming to re-activate them.

Regions covered