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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 4th, 2026–Mar 5th, 2026

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

Regions

Flathead, Lizard, Moyie.

A reactive persistent weak layer remains the primary concern for the region - especially around treeline.

Retreat to more conservative terrain if you see signs of instability.

Confidence

Moderate

  • We have higher uncertainty about treeline conditions due to persistent slabs.
  • We are confident that there are persistent slabs in the snowpack, but uncertain about how likely they are to trigger.

Avalanche Summary

Tuesday
The field team experienced whumpfing and shooting cracks in the Flathead.

Monday
A skier triggered a size 1 persistent slab 50 cm deep. Wet loose sluffs were observed on sunny slopes.

Sunday
Explosives triggered several persistent slab avalanches, mainly at treeline, 40 to 70 cm deep.

Saturday
Skiers remotely triggered a size 1.5 persistent slab from 30 m.

Snowpack Summary

Small new wind slabs may have formed in lee areas near ridgetops. Around 5 cm of recent snow is covering previously wind-affected surfaces. Solar aspects and most areas at treeline and below have a surface crust.

Multiple weak layers of surface hoar and/or crust–facet combinations may be present within the upper meter of the snowpack. The most reactive layer, formed in late January, is buried 40–90 cm deep. Recent avalanches have primarily failed on this surface hoar layer, particularly in steep, sheltered terrain at treeline and below.

While this layer has shown reduced reactivity near the ski hill and in the Lizard Range, riders are still sporadically triggering it across the forecast area.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night
Mostly cloudy. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1900 m.

Thursday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 to 3 cm of snow. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 2000 m.

Friday
Mostly sunny. 1 to 5 cm of snow. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1°C. Freezing level 1800 m.

Saturday
Mostly cloudy. 1 to 5 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1°C. Freezing level 2200 m.



More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for signs of instability like whumpfing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, or recent avalanches.
  • Start on smaller terrain features and gather information before committing to bigger terrain.
  • Be aware of the potential for remote triggering and large avalanches due to buried surface hoar.
  • Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.

Problems

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.

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.