Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 16th, 2026–Mar 17th, 2026

Alpine

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Treeline

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

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

Kispiox, Ningunsaw.

New snow and strong southerly winds will build reactive storm slabs on Tuesday.

Storm slabs have the potential to step down and trigger large, destructive avalanches.

Confidence

Moderate

Persistent slabs could become more likely with the forecast weather.
We are confident the likelihood of avalanches will increase with the forecast weather.

Avalanche Summary

On Sunday, operators in the area reported a remotely triggered size 3 avalanche on the early February persistent weak layer on a north east aspect at treeline.

If you head out in the backcountry, let us know what you're seeing by submitting a MIN report.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 50 cm of new snow will have fallen by Tuesday morning. This new snow is falling on surface hoar and facetted snow from recent cold temperatures. In open areas, strong southerly winds will be redistributing new snow, creating wind slabs and wind-affected surfaces. A crust can be found below this snow up to 1500 m.

Two weak layers remain a concern:

A crust/facet layer buried early February down 100 to 130 cm.
A surface hoar layer buried mid-February down 80 to 110 cm.

Recent avalanche activity has involved these layers, with natural and human-triggered avalanches reported.

Below these layers, the remaining snowpack is generally well settled.

Weather Summary

Monday Night
Cloudy. 10 to 20 cm of snow. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Tuesday
Cloudy. 2 to 3 cm of snow. 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Wednesday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Thursday
Mix of sun and clouds. 5 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried weak layers.
Watch for fresh storm slabs building throughout the day.
Storm slab size and sensitivity to triggering will likely increase through the day.
Avoid steep, rocky, and wind-affected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.

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.

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.