Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 11th, 2026–Jan 12th, 2026

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

Regions

Sea To Sky, Brandywine, Garibaldi, Homathko, Powell River, Spearhead, Tantalus.

Avoid all avalanche terrain.

Very dangerous avalanche conditions have developed with a combination of heavy precipitation and strong winds.

Confidence

High

  • We are confident the likelihood of avalanche will increase with the arrival of the forecast weather.

Avalanche Summary

On Saturday, numerous human-triggered avalanches up to size 1.5 were reported across the Sea to Sky region. Some observers noted an increase in avalanche size as storm snow accumulated throughout the day.

On Saturday, near Hanging Lake a remotely triggered storm slab was reported. See the MIN report for more details.

With rising freezing levels and heavy precipitation, a rain-on-snow event is expected to produce large, widespread avalanche activity.

Snowpack Summary

Overnight heavy wet snow fell on 40 to 50 cm of recent storm snow. This rain on snow event is likely warming and saturating the upper snowpack over a melt freeze crust from early January.

In some sheltered areas, there is a layer of surface hoar underneath that was buried last weekend. It may become reactive with new load.

The mid-December crust is 100 to 200 cm deep and reaches up to 2200 m. It's well-bonded to the snow above. Above 2200 m, a layer of facets and a crust from November is at the base of the snowpack. These layers are not currently a concern.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night
Cloudy. 40 to 80 cm of heavy wet snow at treeline. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1600 m.

Monday
Cloudy. 20 to 30 cm snow above 1900 m. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level 1900 m.

Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 10 to 30 mm of rain at treeline. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 3 °C. Freezing level 2600 m.

Wednesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 3 to 10 mm of rain at treeline. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 2 °C. Freezing level 2300 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid avalanche terrain during periods of heavy snowfall.
  • Avoid exposure to overhead avalanche terrain; avalanches may run surprisingly far.
  • Only the most simple non-avalanche terrain with no overhead hazard is appropriate at this time.
  • Keep in mind that the high density of wet avalanches can make them destructive.

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.

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.