Regions
Kootenay Boundary.
Potentially warm temperatures at upper elevations Monday afternoon could bump up danger ratings, keep an eye on the thermometer.
Confidence
Fair - Freezing levels are uncertain on Monday
Weather Forecast
Monday: Clear skies, light to moderate NW winds, no precipitation, freezing level rising to 1500m with potential for above freezing temperatures at upper elevations in the late afternoon. Tuesday: Increasing cloud cover, light SW winds at valley bottom, moderate NW winds at ridgetop. No precipitation, freezing level rising to 1500m. Wednesday: Increasing cloud cover, light NW winds, no precipitation, freezing level rising to 1500m.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanche activity to report.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 5cm of snow covers a widespread layer of surface hoar above a crust that extends all the way to ridge crest. The curst is effectively "capping" the snowpack and doing a good job of protecting the buried weak layers bellow. However, I suspect that the mid-January surface hoar layer could still produce an avalanche if given a large enough trigger in the right spot. It can be found down about 1m in the alpine and 50-60cm at treeline. The mid-December crust/facet/surface hoar weakness may persist in the mid to lower snowpack at higher elevations.
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.