Avalanche forecast

South Coast

Dec 17 – 18, 2025Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 10 months ago

Avalanche danger

Fri
Sat
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low

Highlights

Heavy precipitation with a shifting snowline make it tough to pin down the scale and extent of Wednesday's problems. Raise your guard where you find dry snow in above-threshold terrain.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–1.5

    Wind slabs may exist in alpine areas that managed to dodge rainfall Tuesday night. Raise your guard where new snow is dry. Observations are limited, so assess any suspect features carefully.

Confidence

Low

Avalanche Summary

No recent avalanches have been reported. Observations are limited in this area, but so is the snowpack.

If you head out into the backcountry, please consider sharing your observations on the MIN.

Snowpack Summary

A mix of snow and rain did little to improve snowpack coverage on Tuesday. Higher alpine locations might have seen 5 - 10 cm accumulate before it was again affected by rain.

Cooling temperatures on Wednesday should freeze the wet snowpack in place. Limited wind slab problems may form in alpine areas high up enough to have dodged rainfall.

Before the storm, higher treeline areas held an estimated 20 to 50 cm of snow. This diminishes rapidly below 1500 m.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night
Cloudy with easing precipitation finishing with 25 to 30 mm of precipitation, increasingly as snow at treeline. 60 to 70 km/h southwest ridgetop wind shifting west. Treeline temperature falling from 1 °C to -4 °C. Freezing level falling from 1600 m to 1000 m.

Wednesday
Mostly cloudy with isolated flurries and minimal accumulation. 20 to 40 km/h west ridgetop wind, easing. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 900 m.

Thursday
Cloudy with easing snowfall bringing 40 to 60 cm of new snow, including overnight amounts. 40 to 50 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 900 to 1200 m.

Friday
Mostly cloudy with scattered flurries bringing 5 to 15 cm of new snow. 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 700 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Make observations and continually assess conditions as you travel.
  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation, aspect, and exposure to wind.
  • Avalanche activity is unlikely when a thick melt-freeze crust is present on the snow surface.

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