Regions
Kootenay Boundary.
Avalanche danger can rise very quickly with warming and solar radiation. Be aware of rapidly changing conditions and overhead hazard.
Confidence
Fair - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
Tuesday: Increasing cloud with a chance of flurries in the afternoon. The freezing level is around 1500 m and ridge winds are light to moderate from the W-NW. Wednesday: A mix of sun and cloud. The freezing level is around 1600 m and ridge winds are light. Thursday: Cloudy with sunny breaks and a chance of showers or wet flurries. The freezing level is around 2000-2200 m. Winds are moderate from the South.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches reported. It is likely that there was some natural avalanche activity on Monday associated with warm temperatures and strong solar radiation. Natural activity should taper off with forecast cloud cover and cooling.
Snowpack Summary
Melt-freeze cycles have created a hard and thick crust at the surface in most places, which has been breaking down on all aspects up to around 2000 m and above this elevation on solar aspects. The late January/early February persistent weak layer is deeply buried and has not produced avalanches in this region for some time now. Cornices are large in some areas and should be given a wide berth.
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.
Deep Persistent Slabs
Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.