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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 19th, 2026–Feb 20th, 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 possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Regions

Purcells, Flathead, Lizard, Crawford, Moyie, St. Mary.

Storm snow has added load to a complex upper snowpack creating touchy avalanche conditions.

Stick to lower angle terrain with no overhead hazard.

Confidence

Moderate

  • We are uncertain about how quickly the snowpack will recover and gain strength.

Avalanche Summary

There was an avalanche fatality in the Matheson Creek area on Tuesday. See this MIN report for more details.

A cycle of natural, human, and explosive triggered storm slab avalanches up to size 2 occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday in the Lizard Range. In the Flathead and St Mary's ranges there have been reports of several remotely triggered (from a distance of 100+ m) storm and persistent slab avalanches up to size 3. Some have had very wide propagations and were 50-60 cm deep.

Snowpack Summary

Roughly 50 cm of storm snow has developed touchy storm slabs over an upper snowpack that is variable and contains two distinct layers:

  • At 50 cm depth, a supportive crust exists on south-facing terrain. On north-facing terrain, this crust is breakable or absent.

  • Between 60 and 100 cm depth, a persistent weak layer of crust/facets with spotty surface hoar is present.

The persistent weak layer is becoming less reactive but continues to produce sporadic avalanches, particularly on north aspects where a supportive crust is absent and in less-travelled areas like the Flathead. Recent storm snow has increased the load on these layers.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Mostly cloudy. 1 to 5 cm of snow. 20-30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.

Friday

Mostly sunny. 15-30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

Saturday

Mostly sunny. 10-20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Sunday

Mostly sunny. 20-30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
  • Keep your guard up at lower elevations. Storms slabs have been reactive at all elevations.
  • Keep in mind that human triggering may persist as natural avalanches taper off.
  • Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.

Problems

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.

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.