Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 7th, 2026–Mar 8th, 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 avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Northwest Coastal, Northwest Inland, Boundary, Kitimat, Nass, Rupert, Seven Sisters, Shames, Stewart, Howson.

New snow, wind and buried persistent weak layers are creating dangerous avalanche conditions.

Stick to low-angle slopes free from overhead hazard.

Confidence

Moderate

We are uncertain about how quickly persistent slabs are gaining strength.
We are uncertain due to the variability of wind effect on the snowpack.

Avalanche Summary

A natural avalanche cycle occurred over the past 72 hours with widespread avalanches up to size 3.5 being reported throughout the region. Natural avalanche activity will taper off as the temperatures drop on Saturday night.

Natural avalanche activity remains likely as additional snowfall and strong winds continue to add load and stress to the snowpack.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 100 cm of snow has fallen in the past week, with strong south-west winds redistributing the snow into wind slabs on north and east aspects at alpine and treeline elevations.

Since early February, new snow has buried (and continues to load) a variety of old surfaces, including surface hoar, facets, and crusts. This weak layer is most likely in wind-sheltered terrain and is buried roughly 90 to 180 cm deep.

Below this layer, the remaining snowpack is generally well settled and well bonded.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night
Mostly cloudy. 10 to 15 cm of snow. 60 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 3 to 10 cm of snow. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Monday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Tuesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Avoid avalanche terrain during periods of heavy loading from new snow, wind, or rain.
Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
Loose avalanches may step down to deeper layers, resulting in larger 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.