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 14th, 2019–Jan 15th, 2019

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

Regions

Kootenay Boundary.

Sunshine and warm temperatures have settled the snowpack. Be cautious of cold, dry snow below ridges and cornices, wind slabs may be reactive to skier traffic.

Confidence

Moderate - Freezing levels are uncertain

Weather Forecast

MONDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with clear periods. Freezing level valley bottom, temperature inversion with cooler air in the valleys. Alpine high near +2. Light winds. TUESDAY: Sunny and warm. Freezing level near 1400 m. Alpine high near 0. Light winds. WEDNESDAY: Cloudy with isolated flurries, trace accumulation. Freezing level near 1300 m. Alpine high near -3. Light to moderate south winds. THURSDAY: Cloudy with flurries, up to 10 cm. Freezing level 1000 m. Alpine high -1. Moderate south-southeast winds.More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Avalanche Summary

There were several size 1-1.5 loose wet avalanches on sunny slopes on Saturday.A wind-loaded NW slope was triggered remotely by skiers on Copper Mountain on Friday. The avalanche was reported to have failed on a layer of surface hoar. See the MIN report here.

Snowpack Summary

Warming has promoted settlement of upper snowpack layers and created surface crusts. A melt-freeze crust exists on solar aspects. Cold, dry snow may still be found on north aspects in the alpine.Wind slabs exist in alpine areas and may overlie buried surface hoar. Professionals continue to monitor a couple of persistent weak layers in the upper 50-150 cm of the snowpack. Minimal overnight re-freezes and daytime warming will keep the chance of triggering a deeper slab lingering into Tuesday. Persistent weak layers are most likely to be triggered from thin, rocky areas with a variable snowpack or with a large load, like cornice fall.

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.