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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 21st, 2026–Feb 22nd, 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.

A weak layer in the upper snowpack continues to produce avalanches.

Stick to low angle terrain with no overhead hazard.

Confidence

Moderate

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

Avalanche Summary

On Friday, there were numerous large (size 2-3) natural storm slabs in the Lizard range. Mostly in north facing alpine terrain.

Signs of instability continue to be seen daily. Including whumpfing and remotely triggered avalanches. It's possible to trigger large avalanches in open areas in the trees.

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

Snowpack Summary

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

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

  • Between 60 and 100 cm deep, 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. Recent storm snow has increased the load on these layers.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night
Mostly clear skies. 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Sunday
Mostly sunny. 1 cm of snow. 25 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Monday
Mostly cloudy. 10 to 20 cm of snow. 50 to 70 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Tuesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 2 cm of snow. 25 to 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Keep in mind that human triggering may persist as natural avalanches taper off.
  • 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.
  • 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.