Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 6th, 2026–Jan 7th, 2026

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.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

East Purcell.

Watch for reactive wind slabs at higher elevations, especially where the snowpack is thin or variable.

Confidence

Moderate

  • Uncertainty is due to the limited number of field observations.

Avalanche Summary

On Monday, numerous natural and human triggered avalanches were reported. These avalanches were mostly size 1 with one larger size 2. These avalanches likely involved a surface hoar layer down 20 to 30 cm.

Snowpack Summary

20 to 30 cm of recent accumulated storm snow covers a variety of old surfaces, including surface hoar in wind-sheltered terrain and a sun crust on steep south-facing slopes.

In the mid-snowpack, a melt-freeze crust exists that was buried in mid-December. This layer is most prevalent at treeline elevations and below.

The lower snowpack consists of a thick melt-freeze crust, with weak faceted snow and/or depth hoar near the ground in areas.

Snow depths vary widely across the region, averaging roughly 100 to 200 cm at treeline.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night
Partly cloudy. 2 to 5 cm of snow. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Wednesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 cm of snow. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Thursday
Mix of sun and clouds. 3 cm of snow. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Friday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 cm of snow. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.
  • Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.
  • Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.