Kootenay Boundary

Storm slabs will be most reactive in wind affected terrain.

Persistent slabs remain possible to human trigger at treeline and above.

Moderate

• We are confident that there are persistent slabs in the snowpack, but uncertain about how likely they are to trigger.
• We are uncertain about forecast snowfall amounts.

No new avalanches were reported on Tuesday.

However, avalanche activity is expected to increase on Thursday with the forecast snow and wind on Wednesday night.

Forecast 15 to 25 cm of snow and strong southwest wind on Wednesday night will form storm slabs that will be most reactive in wind affected terrain.

Below the recent snow is a 1 to 10 cm thick crust. The thickness of the crust depends on elevation.

At upper elevations, where the crust is thinner or not present, it may still be possible to trigger persistent slabs on multiple buried weak layers of surface hoar and/or crusts in the top 120 cm of the snowpack.

The mid/lower snowpack is well settled and strong in most areas.

Wednesday Night
Cloudy. 15 to 25 cm of snow above 1400 m (rain below). 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level rising to 1700 m.

Thursday
Mostly cloudy. 0 to 5 cm of snow. 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C. Freezing level 1300 m.

Friday
Mostly cloudy. 0 to 5 cm of snow. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.

Saturday
Mix of sun and clouds. 0 to 5 cm of snow. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C. Freezing level valley bottom.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Make conservative terrain choices and avoid overhead hazard.
• Use small, low consequence slopes to test the bond of the new snow.
• Watch for signs of instability like whumpfing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, or recent avalanches.
• Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
• Expect slab conditions to change drastically as you move into wind-exposed terrain.