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

Jan 12th, 2026–Jan 13th, 2026

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

Regions

Vancouver Island, East Island, North Island, South Island, West Island.

Loose wet avalanches remain possible as the new snow adapts to heavy rain. If you find dry snow in the alpine, be cautions of reactive storm slabs, especially on wind -loaded features.

Confidence

Moderate

  • Uncertainty is due to difficult to forecast freezing levels.

Avalanche Summary

On Sunday, multiple small (size 1) loose wet avalanches at tree line were observed near Mt Washington on all aspects. Observations are limited at this time, but we suspect a widespread avalanche cycle has occurred over the last 48 hrs.

Snowpack Summary

30 to 50 cm of new snow has been saturated by heavy rain. Except the upper alpine, where rain may have fallen as new snow. A thick crust is buried beneath the new snow.

The mid and lower snowpack is generally moist and well-settled, with average depths of 120–170 cm at treeline.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

Cloudy. 10 to 25 mm of rain at treeline. 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 6 °C. Freezing level 2800 m.

Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 1 mm of rain at treeline. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 6 °C. Freezing level 3400 m.

Wednesday

Mix of sun and clouds. 1 to 3 mm of rain at treeline. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 5 °C. Freezing level 2700 m.

Thursday

Mostly sunny. 10 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 6 °C. Freezing level 3200 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • A moist or wet snow surface, pinwheeling, and natural avalanches are all indicators of a weakening snowpack.
  • Avoid freshly wind-loaded terrain features.

Problems

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.

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.