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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 19th, 2025–Feb 20th, 2025

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

Regions

North Columbia, South Columbia, Jordan, North Selkirk, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Goat, Gold, Kokanee, Retallack, Valhalla, Whatshan.

Small wind slabs may trigger deeper weak layers creating large avalanches.

Start with conservative terrain and watch for signs of instability.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Numerous loose dry sluffs continue to be reported across the region.

Tuesday, a size 2 persistent slab was naturally triggered on a northwest alpine slope. A few wind slabs up to size 2 were also reported.

Monday, skiers remote-triggered a size 2 persistent slab on a south-facing slope below treeline.

On the weekend, several small natural and rider-triggered slabs were reported failing in the recent storm snow. A few isolated ones also ran on the persistent weak layer.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 15 cm of new snow is expected by Thursday afternoon, accompanied by moderate southwesterly wind. These conditions will likely build fresh slabs on lee slopes. The new snow will add to the 10 to 25 cm of old storm snow covering a layer of surface hoar in sheltered areas, and a thin sun crust on sun-affected slopes. A persistent weak layer formed at the end of January is now buried approximately 40 to 80 cm. This layer is a crust on sun-exposed slopes, surface hoar in shaded, sheltered terrain, and weak faceted grains elsewhere. The mid and lower snowpack is generally well-settled and strong.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Cloudy with 1 to 7 cm of snow. 30 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatrure -7 °C.

Thursday

Cloudy with 0 to 3 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level rising to 1500 m.

Friday

Cloudy with 2 to 10 cm of snow. 30 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level rising to 1600 m.

Saturday

Partly cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow. 40 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level rising to 2000 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid freshly wind-loaded features, especially near ridge crests, rollovers, and in steep terrain.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried weak layers.
  • Be aware of the potential for loose avalanches in steep terrain where snow hasn't formed a slab.

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.