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 12th, 2026–Jan 13th, 2026

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

Regions

Kootenay Boundary, Purcells, Bonnington, Grohman, Kootenay Pass, Norns, Ymir, Crawford, Kokanee, Valhalla, Whatshan.

6:45 AM Update: New snow and wind continue building fresh storm slabs and adding load to a persistent weak layer. Wet avalanches are possible at lower elevations.

Confidence

Moderate

  • Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain.
  • Uncertainty is due to the fact that persistent slabs are particularly difficult to forecast.

Avalanche Summary

Avalanche activity has started to decrease since widespread very large avalanches were reported last week. Several persistent and storm slabs up to size 2.5 were reported on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, several storm slabs up to size 2 were reported, but no persistent slabs.

While reactive new storm slabs continue building, the persistent layer is starting to become stubborn to trigger.

Snowpack Summary

Ongoing snowfall on Monday night, combined with strong southwesterly winds, will continue building fresh storm slabs. These slabs are expected to be most reactive in wind-loaded areas. Wet snow is expected at lower elevations from rain.

A weak surface hoar layer currently buried 50 to 90 cm is also a concern in the region. It has been the failure layer in many recent avalanches. On south-facing slopes, this layer is a sun crust.

The remaining snowpack is generally well-bonded and consolidated, with multiple crust layers present.

Weather Summary

Monday Night
Cloudy. 2 to 15 cm of snow, possible rain below 1800 m. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1800 m.

Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level rising to 2600 m.

Wednesday
Mostly sunny. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 3 °C. Freezing level rising to 3500 m.

Thursday
Sunny. 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level around 1800 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.
  • Be aware of the potential for remote triggering and large avalanches due to buried surface hoar.
  • If you are increasing your exposure to avalanche terrain, do it gradually as you gather information.
  • Avoid freshly wind-loaded terrain features.
  • 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.

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.

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.