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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 26th, 2025–Mar 27th, 2025

Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
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, Esplanade, Jordan, North Selkirk, West Purcell, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Goat, Gold.

Another storm will keep avalanche danger HIGH.

Avoid avalanche terrain and overhead hazards.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

The ongoing avalanche cycle is expected to continue into Thursday. Since Monday, numerous large avalanches have occurred, including full path persistent slab avalanches up to size 4. Many wet avalanches and cornice failures occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Thursday, expect a variety of avalanche types due to heavy precipitation and fluctuating freezing levels.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 25 cm of new snow may accumulate by Thursday afternoon as rain switches to snow. This will sit atop wet snow from recent rain and warming.

There is a significant concern for storm slab or wet avalanches stepping down to deeper persistent weak layers. These layers include the early March layer (80 to 120 cm deep) and the mid-February and late-January layers (100 to 200 cm deep), all consisting of surface hoar, facets, or crusts. Heavy precipitation and warming may trigger these layers, as could large triggers like a cornice fall or a smaller avalanche in motion.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Cloudy with 0 to 5 mm of rain. 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +1 °C. Freezing level dropping from 3000 to 2500 m.

Thursday

Cloudy with 20 to 30 mm of precipitation. Snow line dropping to 2000 m by 10 am, resulting in up to 25 cm of new snow by the afternoon in some areas. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level dropping to 1800 m by the afternoon.

Friday

Mostly cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow above 1500 m. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

Saturday

Mostly cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow above 1500 m. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Only the most simple non-avalanche terrain with no overhead hazard is appropriate at this time.
  • Avoid the runout zones of avalanche paths. Avalanches could run full path.

Problems

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.

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.