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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 9th, 2025–Jan 10th, 2025

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.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

South Okanagan, Shuswap, North Okanagan.

New snow and wind are creating an avalanche problem that should be easy to avoid.

Back off of steep slopes if you see signs of instability like shooting cracks or recent avalanches.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported.

Looking forward, we expect that a bit of new snow and moderate wind will slightly increase the avalanche danger.

Observations in this region are limited. If you head into the backcountry, submit a MIN report to let us know what you see.

Snowpack Summary

Expect to find wind slabs on leeward slopes in the alpine and at treeline. Recent snowfall varies across the region. 15-40 cm of settling snow sits on small surface hoar or a thin crust in specific terrain.

A crust buried in early December is 50 to 85 cm deep. In some places there are weak facets above the crust, but it is not a current avalanche problem.

The mid and lower snowpack are generally strong and well settled.

The snowpack is 100-150 cm deep at treeline.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Increasing cloud. 25 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Possible above freezing layer around 2500 m. Treeline temperature -2 °C.

Friday

Mostly cloudy with 8-12 cm of snow. 30 to 50 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Above freezing layer breaks down. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Saturday

Partly cloudy with 2 to 5 cm of snow. 40 km/h northwest wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy with light flurries. 40 km/h northwest wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

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.
  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation, aspect, and exposure to wind.
  • Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where even small avalanches may have severe consequences.

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.