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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 15th, 2026–Feb 16th, 2026

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

Regions

Rossland, South Okanagan, Shuswap, North Okanagan.

New snow continues to build touchy storm slabs.

In some areas, deeper layers in the upper snowpack might be at play.

Confidence

Avalanche Summary

On Saturday there were numerous reports of storm slab and loose dry avalanches running in the new snow, size 1 to 1.5.

This slab avalanche was reported from Crowfoot riding area west of Sicamous on Saturday. Based on the depth of the crown, we suspect it ran one of the buried crust layers in the upper snowpack. This is a great example of how just a single photo can make a super helpful MIN report. Please consider sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network!

Snowpack Summary

New snow over the day will bring recent storm totals to 15 to 30 cm. The recent snow sits over a layer of large surface hoar crystals on a crust, and is expected to bond poorly.

Observations from the Shuswap area have raised suspicions over a couple of crust/facet layers in the top 40 cm of the snowpack. They were buried in late January and early February and are prevalent throughout the region, but have not raised concerns in other areas of the region... yet. It's possible the layers may be reaching a tipping point as they are buried deeper.

The remainder of the snowpack is dense and well bonded, containing many more crusts which are not of concern at this time.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night
Partly cloudy. 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Monday
Mostly cloudy. 3 to 12 cm of snow, with highest amounts near Rossland. 20 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 3 to 4 cm of snow. 10 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Wednesday
Mostly cloudy. 1 to 5 cm of snow. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be aware of the potential for human triggerable storm slabs at lower elevations, even on small features.
  • Be aware of the potential for larger than expected storm slabs due to buried surface hoar.
  • Keep in mind a buried crust offers an excellent bed surface for 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.