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 27th, 2026–Jan 28th, 2026

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

Regions

Yukon, Tutshi, Wheaton, White Pass East, White Pass West.

Wind loaded areas will be the first to reveal how new snow is bonding to the variety of pre-storm surfaces. Use small features to investigate conditions and calibrate your exposure.

Confidence

High

  • We are confident that there are persistent slabs in the snowpack, but uncertain about how likely they are to trigger.
  • We are uncertain about forecast snowfall amounts.

Avalanche Summary

No avalanches have been reported since before January 16, but we should see a sharp uptick in avalanche conditions with the ongoing snowfall and high winds.

Be sure to post your observations to the MIN if you are out in the mountains!

Snowpack Summary

Up to about 20 cm of new snow should be accumulated on the old surface by Wednesday morning. This snow fell under strong to extreme winds and should favour the US/Canada border area.

It buries a mix of heavily wind-affected surfaces in most areas, but in sheltered terrain below 1300 m and on south facing slopes, it now covers a crust (up to 10 cm thick) that has surface hoar preserved on it. Not a good combo! The same surface hoar is likely preserved in leeward alpine.

A weak layer of facets is buried 70 to 200 cm deep and continues to produce hard but sudden test results. This is a concern at higher elevations where the crust is thin or absent. In shallow areas, the bottom half of the snowpack is composed of weak depth hoar.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night
Mostly cloudy with light flurries bringing 2 to 5 cm of new snow. 30 km/h south ridgetop wind, increasing. Treeline temperature -2 °C.

Wednesday
A mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries. 20 to 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Thursday
Mostly cloudy with intermittent flurries bringing around 5 cm of new snow, including overnight. 20 to 40 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Friday
Mostly cloudy with scattered flurries and around 2 cm of new snow. 20 to 40 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Wind slabs are most reactive during their formation.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.

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.

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.