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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 22nd, 2024–Mar 23rd, 2024

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

Regions

Kootenay Boundary, Bonnington, Grohman, Kootenay Pass, Norns, Rossland, Ymir, Crawford, Moyie, St. Mary, Kokanee, Valhalla.

Cooling temperatures are reducing the likelihood of triggering large persistent slab avalanches.

Avoid steep or convex terrain features with a shallow or thin-to-thick snowpack.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A skier triggered size 1 persistent slab avalanche was reported on a north aspect at treeline near Nelson on Thursday. It failed on a weak layer of surface hoar down 25 cm.

Snowpack Summary

0 to 5 cm of recent snow overlies predominantly crusty surfaces.

A weak layer of surface hoar is down 30-60 cm in isolated, sheltered areas at treeline.

A widespread crust with sugary facets above is buried 80-180 cm deep. Steep or convex terrain features with a shallow or thin to thick snowpack at treeline and above are the most likely places to trigger this layer. However, when a thick surface crust is present, human triggering this layer is unlikely.

Weather Summary

Friday night

Cloudy. 5 to 10 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1400 m.

Saturday

Cloudy with isolated flurries, 0 to 10 cm snow. 5 to 10 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1600 m.

Sunday

Mix of sun and cloud. 10 to 20 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

Monday

Mix of sun and cloud. 5 to 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 1600 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • When a thick, melt-freeze surface crust is present, avalanche activity is unlikely.
  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
  • Avalanche hazard may have improved, but be mindful that deep instabilities are still present.
  • Cornice failure may trigger large avalanches.

Problems

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.