Regions
Kootenay Boundary.
Avalanche danger can rise very quickly with warming and solar radiation. Be aware of changing conditions and overhead hazards. Terrain choices and timing can be critical.
Confidence
Fair - Timing or intensity of solar radiation is uncertain
Weather Forecast
Tonight and Sunday: A ridge of high pressure is anchored over the province bringing clear skies, warm temperatures, freezing levels rising to 2000 m by the afternoon and light to moderate North West winds.Monday: Freezing levels staying relatively high overnight and rising to around 2200 m during the day. Mostly sunny with some cloudy periods and light winds from the South West. Tuesday: A low pressure system is expected to bring some light precipitation later during the day and cooler temperatures.
Avalanche Summary
No recent avalanches reported.
Snowpack Summary
Melt-freeze cycles (below 0 Celsius overnight and warm temperatures/solar radiation during the day) has created a hard crust at the surface in most places. During the day, this crust is broken up by warm temperatures and solar radiation on all aspects up to around 2000 m and above this elevation on solar aspects. Snow stability will decrease as the day progresses, increasing the chance of cornice fall and wet loose avalanches. The late January/early February persistent weak layer is deeply buried, and has not produced avalanches in this region for some time now. However, tomorrow's intense warming and solar radiation could wake up the deep weak layer in isolated areas, like on higher alpine slopes that have not gone through as many melt-freeze cycles. I suspect this would be more the case in the Northern part of the region.
Problems
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.
Deep Persistent Slabs
Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.