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

Feb 3rd, 2026–Feb 4th, 2026

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

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay, Little Yoho, Banff, East Side 93N, Kootenay, Lake Louise, LLSA, Sunshine, West Side 93N, Field.

As the skies clear and temperatures rise, the more the hazard will increase.

There is some uncertainty around how well the recent snow is bonding to old surfaces. Assess this problem by digging down and watching for signs like cracking, whumphing, and recent avalanches.

Confidence

Avalanche Summary

Debris from a recent size 2.5 (last 48 hours) was observed out of the north side of Mt. Stephen today. A size 2 recent windslab avalanche out of the SE side of Brewster rock near Sunshine was also observed.

Over the weekend multiple avalanche involvements were reported, up to size 2, all running 10-25 cm deep on the surface hoar/crust layer.

Your MIN reports are very useful when building our forecasts. Thank you all for past and future submissions

Snowpack Summary

Incremental small inputs of new snow over the last week (10-30cm) overlies the Jan 24th surface hoar, crust and/or previously wind affected snow. This surface snow is consolidating into a slab with warm temperatures and wind.

Weather Summary

Wednesday: Sunny with cloudy periods. Alpine temperature: High 2 °C. Mostly light ridge wind occasionally gusting to 40 km/h. Freezing level: 2800m

Thursday: Sunny with cloudy periods. Alpine temperature: Low 0 °C, High 2 °C. Mostly light ridge wind occasionally gusting to 40 km/h. Freezing level: 2900m

Friday: Sunny with cloudy periods. Alpine temperature: Low -2 °C, High 1 °C. Freezing level: 2800m.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the old surface.
  • Use extra caution for areas that are experiencing rapidly warming temperatures for the first time.
  • Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.

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.

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.

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.