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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 16th, 2026–Feb 17th, 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.

Regions

Rossland, South Okanagan, Shuswap, North Okanagan.

New snow may bond poorly to old surfaces. Dial back terrain if you see signs of instability

In northern areas, buried weak layers may become reactive as the load increases

Confidence

Moderate

  • We are uncertain due to a limited number of field observations.
  • We are uncertain about how persistent slabs will react to the forecast weather.

Avalanche Summary

On Sunday, avalanches up to size 1 were reported from human and explosive triggers. While most failed within the recent storm snow or on the recently buried crust, one stepped down to the late January surface hoar and crust.

This slab avalanche was reported from Crowfoot riding area west of Sicamous on Saturday. Based on the depth of the crown, we suspect it also ran one of the buried crust layers in the upper snowpack.

Snowpack Summary

Overnight snowfall should bring recent totals to 10-30 cm, overlying a layer of large surface hoar on a crust.

Shuswap observations point to two crust/facet layers buried within the top 40 cm of the snowpack. While widespread, these layers haven’t caused concern elsewhere, yet.

The remainder of the snowpack is dense and well bonded, containing many more crusts.

Weather Summary

Monday Night
Mostly cloudy. 1 to 5 cm of snow favouring the south. 10 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Wednesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 to 3 cm of snow. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

Thursday
Mix of sun and clouds. 3 cm of snow. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °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.
  • Even brief periods of direct sun could produce natural 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.