Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 6th, 2026–Feb 7th, 2026

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Northwest Coastal, Boundary, Kitimat, Rupert, Shames, Stewart.

New snow will be falling on a crust that extends to the mountain top in many places.

Check the bond between new snow and the crust before committing yourself to avalanche terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

We are uncertain due to variable freezing levels.
We are uncertain about forecast precipitation amounts.

Avalanche Summary

It's been a stormy week with a significant natural avalanche cycle occurring, numerous wet loose avalanches up to size 3 have occurred throughout the region on all aspects and elevations.

Snowpack Summary

Strong southwesterly winds and 80-100 mm of precipitation or more will have accumulated by Saturday morning, with freezing levels reaching 2000 m or higher. The snow surface will be wet or isothermal below this elevation.

A hard crust with surface hoar or facets that formed on January 26th is buried 40 to 100 cm deep. Storm slabs could step down to this layer, creating large avalanches.

Treeline snow depths throughout the region range from 250 to 450 cm.

Weather Summary

Friday Night
Cloudy. 5 to 20 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 50 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1300-1600 m.

Saturday
Cloudy. 10 to 15 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1300-1500 m.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 20 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 800 m.

Monday
Mostly cloudy. 3 to 10 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Avoid avalanche terrain during periods of heavy loading from new snow, wind, or rain.
Make conservative terrain choices and avoid overhead hazard.

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.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.