Avalanche Forecast

High pressure remains the dominant weather feature for the rest of the week. The next storm system is currently forecast to arrive on Saturday afternoon or evening. 

Wednesday Night: Mainly cloudy with a chance of light flurries, moderate to strong NW wind, treeline low around -6 °C.

Thursday: A mix of sun and cloud, light N wind, treeline high around 0 °C.

Friday: A mix of sun and cloud, light SW wind, treeline high around +1 °C.

Saturday: Mainly cloudy with light snow beginning in the afternoon, moderate to strong SW wind, treeline high around 0 °C.

On Tuesday, the Avalanche Canada field team reported thin wind slabs which were reactive to human-triggering in the far north of the region. These may remain reactive for a few days with the cold temperatures. 

For the rest of the region which saw substantially less recent snowfall, a widespread surface crust is making avalanches unlikely. 

Through most of the region, a thick and supportive melt-freeze crust on all aspects and elevations sits on the surface or just below a few centimeters of recent snow. The exception is the far north of the region around Mt. Cain where the weekend storm produced as much as 20 cm which overlies the crust. Pockets of thin wind slabs were reported to have formed on Tuesday in exposed high elevation terrain in the far north of the region. 

The prominent late-January crust is now down 10-60 cm and is well bonded to the surrounding snow. The mid and lower snowpack is considered well settled and strong. 

Shallow snow cover at low elevations leaves many hazards like stumps and creeks exposed at or just below the snow surface.

• Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
• When a thick, melt-freeze surface crust is present, avalanche activity is unlikely.