Avalanche Forecast

Fair - Timing or intensity of solar radiation is uncertain

Overnight and Friday: A warm and dry airmass I expected to move into the Interior mountains overnight. Expect very warm alpine temperatures with above freezing up to about 3000 metres by the afternoon. Winds should diminish to light Westerly during the day. Clear skies should add strong solar radiation to the already warm air.Saturday: Continued very warm alpine temperatures with light winds and mostly clear skies. Becoming cloudy in the evening and cooling to near freezing.Sunday: Mix of sun and clouds with moderate to strong Westerly winds and freezing levels near 2000 metres.

One natural avalanche size 3.0 was reported from the North of the region that released close to the ground, suspect basal facets. Some natural cornice falls to size 2.0 and explosive control up to size 3.0 near Nelson. The size 3.0 avalanche released down to the weak layer of facets near the ground (Basal facets), and was up to 3 metres deep. Some loose wet avalanches were reported from steep solar aspects to size 1.0 in the highway corridor.

The North of the region received more storm snow over the past week than the rest of the region. The storm slab in the North is close to a metre thick and appears to be more touchy than in most of the rest of the region. The Rossland range has a shallower snowpack and weak basal facets continue to be a concern where wind slabs and storm slabs have added load above the weak layers. The forecast very warm alpine temperatures may result in a period of fairly rapid warming of wind and storm slabs above loose weak layers. Periods of strong solar radiation may cause moist or wet loose snow avalanches and/or cornice falls which may result in large additional loads above deeply buried weak layers.