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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 16th, 2026–Mar 17th, 2026

Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Regions

Northwest Inland, Kitimat, Nass, Rupert, Seven Sisters, Shames, Howson.

A significant amount of new snow and rain are causing dangerous avalanche conditions.

Reduce your exposure to overhead hazard and stay away from run-out zones.

Confidence

Moderate

  • Deep persistent slabs could become more likely with the forecast weather.
  • We are confident a natural avalanche cycle will begin shortly after the arrival of the incoming weather.

Avalanche Summary

On Friday, skiers near Terrace remotely triggered a cornice, which resulted in a large (size 3) persistent slab. This occurred on an east aspect in the alpine and failed on the Feb 7th crust. Several other natural cornice failures were reported, some triggering large (size 2-3) wind slabs on the slopes below.

On Monday, reactive storm slabs will build throughout the day. Be especially cautious in wind-loaded areas and where they overlie surface hoar, facets and/or a crust.

Snowpack Summary

By Tuesday morning, 40-80 cm of new snow will have fallen above 1000 m. This new snow is falling on surface hoar and facetted snow from recent cold temperatures. In open areas, strong southerly winds will be redistributing new snow, creating wind-affected surfaces.

The mid snowpack, down 100 to 150 cm, weak layers of surface hoar, facets and crusts remain a concern, especially where there is no crust above. Triggering of these layers is becoming less likely, but remains at a depth where human triggering is possible.

The remaining snowpack is generally well settled and well bonded.

Weather Summary

Monday Night
Cloudy. 20 to 30 cm of snow above 1300 m, rain below this elevation. 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C.

Tuesday
Cloudy. 10 to 15 cm of snow. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 800 m.

Wednesday
Cloudy. 10 to 15 cm of snow. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Thursday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 to 3 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Any travel under High danger should exclusively be in flat or gentle terrain, far away from any overhead hazard.
  • Storm slab size and sensitivity to triggering will likely increase through the day.
  • As the storm slab problem worsens, the easy solution is to choose more conservative terrain.
  • Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.

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.

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.

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.