Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Feb 22nd, 2025 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Storm Slabs and Persistent Slabs.
Avalanche Canada,
Avalanche Canada
Dangerous avalanche conditions are developing as new snow and rain accumulates throughout the storm.
Travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended.
Summary
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
No recent slab avalanches have been reported, however, whumpfing which is a strong sign of unstable snow, was reported on Thursday. Check out the MIN report. Additionally, over the last few days, several small (size 1 to 1.5) natural and human-triggered dry loose avalanches were reported running in steep terrain.
Looking forward, we expect avalanche activity to rapidly increase as snow starts to accumulate along with strong winds and warming over the weekend.
Snowpack Summary
10 to 15 cm of new storm snow accompanied by southerly winds has built sensitive storm slabs. An additional 15 to 30 cm is forecast to fall overnight and through Sunday, which will fall as rain at lower elevations. A layer of surface hoar or thin crust from mid-February is currently buried 20 to 40 cm deep. Beneath that, 20 to 60 cm of faceted snow sits atop another surface hoar or crust layer buried in late January. Both of these weak layers are a concern, with potential for storm slabs to step down to them. The remaining snowpack is generally well-settled.
Weather Summary
Saturday Night
Cloudy with 10 to 20 cm of snow, possible rain below 1400 m. 40 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level rising to 1900 m.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow, possible rain below 1700 m. 30 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level rising to 2000 m.
Monday
Mostly sunny. 25 to 35 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level rising to 1700 m.
Tuesday
Cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow, possible rain below 1200 m. 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level rising to 1500 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Avoid avalanche terrain during periods of heavy loading from new snow, wind, or rain.
- Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
- Remote triggering is a big concern, be aware of the potential for wide propagations and large, destructive avalanches at all elevations.
- As the storm slab problem worsens, the easy solution is to choose more conservative terrain.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm slabs are expected to be increasingly reactive throughout the day. At lower elevations it will rain, making wet slabs and loose wet avalanches likely.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
Persistent weak layers are expected to become increasingly reactive throughout the storm.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Feb 23rd, 2025 4:00PM
