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Avalanche Forecast

Dec 16th, 2017–Dec 17th, 2017
Alpine
1: Low
The avalanche danger rating in the alpine will be low
Treeline
1: Low
The avalanche danger rating at treeline will be low
Below Treeline
1: Low
The avalanche danger rating below treeline will be low
Alpine
3: Considerable
The avalanche danger rating in the alpine will be considerable
Treeline
2: Moderate
The avalanche danger rating at treeline will be moderate
Below Treeline
2: Moderate
The avalanche danger rating below treeline will be moderate
Alpine
3: Considerable
The avalanche danger rating in the alpine will be considerable
Treeline
2: Moderate
The avalanche danger rating at treeline will be moderate
Below Treeline
2: Moderate
The avalanche danger rating below treeline will be moderate

Regions: South Rockies.

Even though the hazard rating is LOW, pockets of unstable snow may be found in isolated terrain features. Early season hazards associated with our shallow snowpack are still problematic.

Confidence

Low - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain on Monday

Weather Forecast

At the moment, most of the atmospheric action is on the Northwest Coast. As this system sinks to the south some very light snow and strong wind is expected to impact the southeast corner of the province on Sunday. A secondary system sliding along the border is expected to have a bigger effect on Monday and Tuesday, stay tuned for more details.SUNDAY: Broken/scattered cloud, freezing level at valley bottom rising to around 1000m through the day, strong to extreme southwest wind, 1 to 3cm of snow possible. MONDAY: Broken cloud building through the day, freezing level around 1200m, moderate to strong west/southwest wind, 1 to 15cm of snow possible. TUESDAY: Overcast, freezing level at valley bottom, light variable wind, 5 to 15 cm of snow possible. Visit avalanche.ca/weather for a more detailed mountain weather forecast.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanche activity reported.  In the neighboring Lizard Range and Flathead Region, loose dry avalanches to size 1 were observed.Submit your observations to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

Isolated pockets of wind slab may be found on easterly aspects in the alpine, while windward slopes have been scoured down to the old rain crust or rock. Sun crusts have formed on southerly slopes and in sheltered treeline and below treeline terrain, very large feathery surface hoar and surface facets (sugary snow) exist. These crystals do not pose hazard to us now, but once they get buried by new snow they can form a weak layer that could become reactive later. The two crusts that were buried near the end of November can now be found approximately 15-20 cm down. A third crust from the end of October exists as a "facet/crust" combo near the base of the snowpack approximately 50-100 cm down and recent snowpack tests done on this layer are showing hard to no significant results. These rain crusts will likely be with us all winter but may not pose a problem until we see a significant change in the weather.Check out this video from our South Rockies Field Team.