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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 8th, 2026–Feb 9th, 2026

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Flathead, Lizard, Moyie, St. Mary.

Heightened avalanche conditions exist in specific terrain features where weak layers in the upper snowpack are buried at prime depth for human-triggered slab avalanches.

Confidence

Moderate

  • We are confident that there are persistent slabs in the snowpack, but uncertain about how likely they are to trigger.

Avalanche Summary

On Sunday, explosive control work in the alpine produced a few cornice results and several persistent slab avalanches size 1 to 1.5, failing on the January weak layer described in the snowpack summary.

In the past week, human-triggered persistent slab avalanches on this layer were reported size 1 to 1.5, most occurring at treeline and above.

Snowpack Summary

10 to 15 cm of new snow settles over a complex upper snowpack.

A widespread breakable crust sits beneath the new snow, on all but alpine north aspects. Another widespread weak layer is buried 20 to 40 cm deep. It formed in late January and consists of surface hoar on a melt-freeze crust, with a thick layer of facets below. These layers are expected to become increasingly problematic as they get buried deeper.

The mid and lower snowpack remain well settled, with no significant concerns at this time.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night
Partly cloudy. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Monday
Mostly cloudy. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 1 to 4 cm of snow. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Wednesday
Sunny. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.
  • Keep in mind a buried crust offers an excellent bed surface for avalanches.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried surface hoar.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.