Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 13th, 2025–Dec 14th, 2025

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Clearwater, South Okanagan, Shuswap, North Okanagan.

As you move above the rain crust, assess how well the recent snow is bonding to the underlying layers.

Avoid terrain that is threatened from above by overhead hazard.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Friday, near the crowfoot mountain riding area. A group observed an avalanche occurrence on a south aspect. The avalanche was deep and may have failed on the early season melt freeze/ facet crust combo.

On Thursday, a very large (size 3.5) deep persistent slab avalanche was reported near Kelowna on a north east aspect at 2200 meters. This avalanche was triggered utilizing explosives and was 500 meters wide and ran 600 meters in length.

Snowpack Summary

Above 1500 m up to 25 cm of new snow overlies a thin rain crust that formed earlier in the week. Below the crust, another 40 cm of storm snow exists.

A layer of surface hoar and/or faceted grains and a hard melt-freeze crust from mid-November can be found down 40-80 cm in the snowpack. Weak faceted grains may extend to the base of the snowpack, particularly in areas where the snowpack is thin.

Snow depths at treeline vary from about 50 to 100 cm and decrease rapidly at lower elevations.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night
Partly cloudy. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level 2100 m.

Sunday
Cloudy. 2 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1800 m.

Monday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 10 mm of rain at treeline. 70 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level 2200 m.

Tuesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 to 10 cm of snow. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Look for signs of instability: whumphing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, and recent avalanches.
Be careful as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
Be cautious of buried obstacles, especially below treeline.

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.

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.