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

Feb 25th, 2025–Feb 26th, 2025

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
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

Lizard-Flathead, Flathead, Lizard, Moyie.

Strong sunshine may trigger natural avalanches, and storm snow likely remains reactive to human triggers.

Don't let sun and clear skies tempt you into consequential terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Monday, avalanche activity reached size 2.5, with natural avalanches occurring during heavy snowfall and strong winds. Avalanches were triggered within the storm snow and on buried weak layers.

Check out this MIN report of a remotely triggered avalanche near Cranbrook. Photo below

While natural activity is expected to taper off, human triggering remains a concern.

Snowpack Summary

Recent snowfall has settled to around 30 to 60 cm of new snow, with wind effect observed at higher elevations. Strong sunshine on Wednesday is expected to create moist snow on sun-exposed slopes and moist snow is also present at lower elevations due to recent warm temperatures and rain.

A persistent weak layer of surface hoar or facets from late January is buried 70 to 100 cm deep. This weak layer is expected to remain reactive from the heavy snowfall and warm temperatures. The remainder of the snowpack is generally well-settled.

Check out this MIN for an overview of conditions around Tunnel Creek.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Clearing skies with isolated flurries possible. 30 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level drops to 700 m.

Wednesday

Mostly clear skies with 20 to 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Freezing levels rise to 1900 m, with treeline temperatures around -1 °C.

Thursday

Clear skies. 40 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing levels rise to 2200 m, with treeline temperatures around +2 °C.

Friday

Clear skies. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing levels rise to 2500 m, with treeline temperatures around +5 °C.

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.
  • Fresh snow rests on a problematic persistent slab, don't let good riding lure you into complacency.
  • Even brief periods of direct sun could produce natural avalanches.
  • Travel early on sun-exposed slopes before cornices weaken with daytime warming.

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.