Regions
Kootenay Boundary.
Weather Forecast
Overnight and Wednesday: A weak ridge of High pressure will continue to cause cold and dry conditions during the day. The next Pacific frontal system is expected to move into the region by Wednesday afternoon. Light Westerly winds will become moderate Southwesterly as the storm moves in and brings 15-20 mm of precipitation, that should be snow (20-30 cms) at all elevations.Thursday: Strong Southwest winds and another 10-15 mm of precipitation for southern areas of the region. Freezing level should remain at valley bottoms.Friday: Flurries and gusty Northwest winds as a cold arctic airmass moves in from the Yukon.
Avalanche Summary
Natural soft slab and loose snow avalanches up to size 2.0 were reported to be releasing down 30-50 cms in the storm snow. Large explosive triggers released loose snow avalanches up to size 2.5 in the Kootenay Pass area.
Snowpack Summary
The storm brought another 20-40 cms of dry light snow combined with moderate to strong Southwest winds. The storm slab has been very easy to trigger in areas where the wind stiffened the slab a bit. In most places the slab is still soft to very soft and it is not propagating far. Expect heavy sluffing in steep terrain. The well settled mid-pack has not been showing shears in snow profile tests.
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.
Loose Dry
Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.