Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 13th, 2026–Mar 14th, 2026

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Clearwater, South Okanagan, Shuswap, North Okanagan.

Managing wind slabs by seeking out sheltered snow is the main story, but explosives control also coaxed out a few persistent slabs Thursday. Large triggers (you know who you are!) take heed.

Confidence

Moderate

  • We are uncertain due to a limited number of field observations.

Avalanche Summary

Explosives control east of Kelowna produced several size 2 persistent slabs failing on the 30 - 100 cm-deep January crust on Thursday, evidence of persistent slabs reacting to large triggers in suspect terrain.

If you are heading into the backcountry, please share any observations with the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

Up to about 30 cm of storm snow since March 7 has been redistributed by strong, mainly southwest wind in open terrain. This snow should overlie crust below at least 1800 m and hard old snow above this.

Within the top 100 cm of the snowpack, there are a few layers of surface hoar, facets, crusts or a combination of the three. The January layer is only about 70 cm deep in this region. Other than Thursday's explosives results, these layers have not triggered recent avalanches, but they could become reactive with rain next week. Until then, thin-to-thick snowpack areas near ridgetop would be the most likely places to get surprised.

The remainder of the snowpack is well settled and strong.

Weather Summary

Friday Night
Partly cloudy with a band of flurries between Big White and Sun Peaks bringing 5 to 10 cm of new snow, a trace elsewhere. 20 to 40 km/h northwest ridgetop wind, increasing. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Saturday
A mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries and a trace of new snow. 30 to 40 km/h northwest ridgetop wind, easing. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Sunday
A mix of sun and clouds with cloud increasing and flurries starting with a couple cm of new snow before increasing overnight. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind, increasing. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Monday
Coudy with continuing snowfall bringing 20 to 30 total cm of new snow. 40 to 70 km/h southwest ridgetop wind, increasing. Treeline temperature reaching 3 °C as freezing level shoots to 2400 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Watch for signs of instability like whumpfing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, or recent avalanches.
  • In areas where deep persistent slabs may exist, avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks and slopes above cliffs.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.