Regions
Kootenay Boundary.
Although the trend shows improvement the potential for triggering an avalanche is greatest at higher elevations due to recent heavy snowfall and strong winds.
Confidence
Poor - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
The deluge has finally ended! A dry ridge of high pressure will develop for the forecast period bringing gradually clearing skies, light northwest winds and freezing levels at or near valley bottom.
Avalanche Summary
No recent avalanches have been observed, likely because recent weather has kept people out in the mountains to make those observations. If you have any avalanche observations, please share them on our new Mountain Information Network. For more details, go to: https://avalanche.ca/blogs/VIYBuScAAJdbdqPz/m-i-n-intro
Snowpack Summary
Rain from the past week has saturated the snowpack in most areas, and a hard crust likely exists to about 2100m. The thickness of the crust will depend on elevation and how much rain fell. At higher elevations, snow and strong winds have added depth and cohesion to a storm slab which may overlie a weak layer of facets, surface hoar, a hard rain crust, or a combination thereof.Near the base of the snowpack is a crust/facet combination which formed in November. This interface remains a concern at higher elevations in many parts of the region as it continues to produce whumpfing, and has the potential for wide propagations.
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.