Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Dogtooth, Esplanade, Glacier, Goat, Gold, Jordan, North Columbia, North Selkirk, South Columbia, West Purcell.
Avoid all avalanche terrain.
Buried weak layers combined with a lot of new snow mean avalanche conditions are very dangerous.
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
Large natural and human-triggered avalanches are expected on Sunday. Both storm slabs and persistent slabs.
Persistent slab avalanches continue to occur every couple of days on the January and February weak layers. With new load, more avalanches are expected on these layers.
Snowpack Summary
Anywhere from 20 to 60 cm of new snow is expected by the end of the day Sunday.
A 3 to 5 cm thick melt-freeze crust, buried 10 to 15 cm deep, is present on all aspects except north-facing slopes above 2000 m. Surface hoar has been noted on this crust.
A weak layer, composed of facets, surface hoar, or a crust, is found 30 to 70 cm deep from mid-February. Another persistent weak layer, buried in late January, lies 60 to 120 cm deep. This layer is surface hoar, facets, or a crust, depending on the aspect.
The remaining snowpack is well-settled and strong.
Weather Summary
Saturday Night
Cloudy with 10 to 30 cm of snow. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.
Sunday
Cloudy with 10 to 25 cm of snow. 40 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.
Monday
Cloudy then clearing with 10 to 30 cm of snow ending in the morning. 10 to 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 10 to 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Avoid avalanche terrain during periods of heavy snowfall.
- Avoid the runout zones of avalanche paths. Avalanches could run full path.
- Only the most simple non-avalanche terrain with no overhead hazard is appropriate at this time.
Avalanche Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm slabs are developing as the new snow piles up. The more new snow there is, the more likely and dangerous storm slabs are.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Very Likely - Certain
Expected Size: 2 - 4
Persistent Slabs
Weak layers from January and February are likely to fail under the new snow load.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Likely - Very Likely
Expected Size: 2 - 4