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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 24th, 2025–Mar 25th, 2025

Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Regions

North Columbia, South Columbia, Esplanade, Jordan, North Selkirk, West Purcell, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Goat, Gold.

Avoid all avalanche terrain.

Large avalanches may run into the valley bottom from the alpine.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

We've received an initial report of a serious incident in the southeast of the forecast region. No further information is currently available.

Large storm slabs have been consistently reported over the last few days. Several very large persistent slabs, up to size 4, have also been observed. These were triggered by cornice failures or icefall.

With lots of new snow and rain in the forecast, we expect to see continued large avalanches in the coming days.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 50 cm of new snow may get rained on as freezing levels rise during the day. This may cause storm slabs to fail at all elevations.

There is a significant concern for storm slabs to step down to deeper, persistent weak layers. These consist of surface hoar, facets, or a crust:

  • Early-March layer down 80–120 cm. This is the primary persistent layer of concern.

  • Mid-February & Late-January layers down 100–200 cm. There is lingering concern in shallow or rocky areas, otherwise, these are unlikely to be triggered without a significant load, like a cornice failure or storm slab in motion.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

Cloudy with 0 to 2 cm of snow. 10 to 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1600 m.

Tuesday

Cloudy with 5 to 10 mm/cm of rain/snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +1 °C. Freezing level 2500 m by end of day.

Wednesday

A mix of sun and cloud, with 5 to 10 mm/cm of rain/snow. 20 to 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +5 °C. Freezing level 3000 m.

Thursday

Mostly cloudy with 10 to 20 mm/cm of rain/snow. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level falling to 2000 m by noon.

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.
  • Only the most simple non-avalanche terrain with no overhead hazard is appropriate at this time.
  • Storm slab size and sensitivity to triggering will likely increase through the day.
  • Avoid the runout zones of avalanche paths. Avalanches could run full path.

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.