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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 23rd, 2025–Feb 24th, 2025

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

Regions

Kootenay Boundary, Bonnington, Grohman, Kootenay Pass, Norns, Rossland, Ymir, Crawford.

Heavy snowfall is expected overnight Sunday. Avoid exposure to avalanche terrain as natural avalanches are expected.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Natural, human and explosive triggered avalanches have been reported to size 2.5 - primarily from steep and wind affected slopes at treeline and above.

Several recent avalanches have been reported on the buried persistent weak layers, triggered by riders (including one remote trigger). These have primarily occurred on north and east facing slopes above 1750 m.

Natural and human triggered avalanche activity is expected to continue with heavy snowfall Sunday night.

Snowpack Summary

By Monday morning storm totals are expected to reach up to 70 cm in the north of this region, and 40 cm elsewhere. Moderate to strong southwest winds have likely redistributed this snow into deeper and more reactive deposits at treeline and above. Lower elevations have received mostly rain, creating wet surface conditions or a crust.

This storm snow sits over a layer of surface hoar or thin crust from mid-February. Another weak layer of faceted snow /surface hoar/and a crust from late January is buried 60 to 100 cm deep. Both of these weak layers are expected to be more reactive from the heavy snowfall and warm temperatures. The remainder of the snowpack is generally well-settled.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Cloudy with 10 to 30 cm of snow possible, favouring the north and west of this region. 30 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Snowfall is expected to begin the night at 1500 m, and drop to 500 m by morning.

Monday

Mostly cloudy with possible morning sunny breaks. 25 to 35 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level rising to 1600 m.

Tuesday

Cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow by Tuesday morning, and another 5 to 15 cm possible over the day. 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level rising to 1500 m.

Wednesday

A mix of sun and cloud. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level rising to 1500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
  • Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
  • Remote triggering is a concern; avoid terrain where triggering overhead slopes is possible.

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.