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

Mar 16th, 2026–Mar 17th, 2026

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

Regions

Kootenay Boundary, Purcells, Bonnington, Grohman, Kootenay Pass, Norns, Rossland, Ymir, Crawford, Kokanee, Retallack, Valhalla.

Temperatures are on the rise!

Watch for signs of slab formation throughout the day.

Confidence

Moderate

  • We are uncertain about how the timing or intensity of warming will affect the snowpack.

Avalanche Summary

On Sunday, small wind slab and dry loose releases were reported.

On Saturday, numerous wind slab avalanche were reported. These avalanches were between size 1 to 2 and were naturally and rider triggered.

Snowpack Summary

10 to 15 cm of new snow has accumulated over the past 24 hours over a generally wind affected surface with a crust found on south facing terrain.

A crust buried early in March is down roughly 50 cm on all aspects. The thickness of the crust depends on elevation.

At upper elevations, where the crust is thinner or not present, it may still be possible to trigger persistent slabs on multiple buried weak layers of surface hoar and/or crusts in the top 120 cm of the snowpack.

The mid/lower snowpack is well settled and strong in most areas.

Weather Summary

Monday Night
Cloudy. 3 cm of snow. 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Tuesday
Cloudy. 3 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1700 m.

Wednesday
Cloudy. 35 mm of rain at treeline. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level 2300 m.

Thursday
Mostly cloudy. 15 mm of rain at treeline. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 2 °C. Freezing level 2500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Make conservative terrain choices and avoid overhead hazard.
  • Watch for signs of instability like whumpfing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, or recent avalanches.
  • Storm slab size and sensitivity to triggering will likely increase through the day.
  • As the storm slab problem worsens, the easy solution is to choose more conservative terrain.

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.