Avalanche Forecast

Low - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain

Forecast precipitation amounts and freezing levels vary greatly between different weather models. Wednesday could see storm snow accumulations of up to 15cm with light southerly winds and freezing levels around 1400m. Another 10cm may fall on Thursday with only isolated flurries currently forecast for Friday. Winds will be light and variable before swinging around to the North at the end of the week as freezing levels fall again in front of a descending Artic air mass.

Avalanche activity has been limited to small loose snow avalanches running in the upper snowpack.

Recent snowfall amounts have been highly variable across the region. Up to 15cm of new snow fell around Rossland while Nelson and Kootenay Pass received less than 5cm. Warm temperatures and moderate southerly winds on Tuesday encouraged the formation of soft slabs in wind loaded features especially in the Southwest of the region. The new snow is covering a widespread layer of surface hoar. This weak layer overlies a melt-freeze crust on solar aspects, old wind slabs in exposed higher elevation terrain and loose facets in sheltered areas. About 50 cm below the surface, the mid-December interface can be found which consists of surface hoar and/or a sun crust. The early December rain crust can be found about 20 cm below that, up to an elevation of 1400m. Both of these layers are thought to be gaining strength and are no longer reacting to snowpack tests except in isolated locations. The snowpack below these layers is generally strong and well-settled.