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

Dec 22nd, 2024–Dec 23rd, 2024

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

Lizard-Flathead, Flathead, Lizard.

Recent snow is continuing to settle and bond with underlying surfaces. Exercise extra caution around ridge crests and steep roll-overs, where wind slabs may still be reactive.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Storm slab avalanche activity appears to have largely come to a stop following Wednesday's widespread avalanche cycle. However, slopes that have been heavily wind-loaded over the last week likely remain reactive to riders.

Snowpack Summary

Approximately 10 to 20 cm of fresh snow has fallen over the weekend. This has buried wind-affected surfaces in exposed terrain and settled powder in sheltered slopes. At lower elevations, new snow sits atop a recently formed crust in most areas.

The mid and lower snowpack is generally well-settled and stable. However, there is some uncertainty about a potential surface hoar layer buried 50 to 100 cm deep, which could be reactive on isolated, steep, sheltered slopes around treeline and below.

Snow depths at treeline range from 120 to 180 cm.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Cloudy. 40 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Monday

Cloudy with 0 to 2 cm of snow. 40 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Tuesday

Cloudy with 2 to 8 cm of snow. 40 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C.

Wednesday

Mostly cloudy. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °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.
  • Look for signs of instability: whumphing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, and recent avalanches.
  • Approach steep and open slopes at and below treeline cautiously, as buried surface hoar may exist.

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.