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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 14th, 2026–Mar 15th, 2026

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

Regions

Northwest Coastal, Northwest Inland, Boundary, Kitimat, Nass, Rupert, Seven Sisters, Shames, Stewart, Howson.

Hazard will increase throughout the day as storm slabs build on a weak surface.

A buried weak layer means that triggering very large avalanches is possible!

Confidence

Moderate

  • We are uncertain about how quickly persistent slabs are gaining strength.
  • We are uncertain about forecast precipitation amounts.

Avalanche Summary

On Friday, skiers near Terrace remotely triggered a cornice, which resulted in a large (size 3) persistent slab. This occurred on an east aspect in the alpine and failed on the Feb 7th crust. Several other natural cornice failures were reported, some triggering large (size 2-3) wind slabs on the slopes below.

On Sunday, reactive storm slabs will build throughout the day. Be especially cautious in wind-loaded areas and where they overlie surface hoar, facets and/or a crust.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 15 cm of new snow covers surface hoar and facetted snow from recent cold temperatures. In open areas, strong southerly winds will be redistributing new snow, creating wind slabs and wind-affected surfaces. A crust can be found below this snow up to 1600 m.

The mid snowpack, down 90 to 130 cm, weak layers of surface hoar, facets and crusts remain a concern, especially where there is no crust above. Triggering of these layers is becoming less likely, but remains at a depth where human triggering is possible.

The remaining snowpack is generally well settled and well bonded.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy. 1 to 5 cm of snow. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Sunday

Cloudy. 5 to 30 cm of snow. 40 to 80 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Monday

Mostly cloudy. 15 to 30 mm as rain or snow at treeline. 60 to 100 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy. Trace to 10 cm of snow. 30 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Storm slab size and sensitivity to triggering will likely increase through the day.
  • As the storm slab problem worsens, the easy solution is to choose more conservative terrain.
  • Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
  • Use extra caution around cornices: they are large, fragile, and can trigger slabs on slopes below.

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.