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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 26th, 2025–Mar 27th, 2025

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

Regions

South Okanagan, Shuswap, North Okanagan.

The snowpack is untrustworthy after going through dramatic weather fluctuations. Conservative low angle routes are recommended.

Confidence

Low

Avalanche Summary

Warm weather on Wednesday likely triggered wet avalanches, as reports from Tuesday included several size 1 wet loose avalanches across the region.

As temperatures cool on Thursday, a mix of wet and dry avalanches are expected.

Snowpack Summary

As freezing levels drop on Thursday, rain will transition to snow. Snowfall amounts will depend on the timing of the cooling, but expect 10 to 20 cm by the end of the day.

This new snow will land on a thick layer of wet, rain-soaked snow.

Deeper in the snowpack, a melt-freeze crust from early March sits 40 to 70 cm deep. Below that, two weak layers of surface hoar and/or faceted grains associated with crusts from late January and mid-February may be found 70 to 120 cm deep. We do not have reports of recent avalanches on these layers.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Cloudy with 5 to 10 mm of rain. 20 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +2 °C. Freezing level 2500 m.

Thursday

Cloudy with rain transitioning to snow, totalling 15 to 25 mm/cm. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level dropping from 2500 to 1700 m.

Friday

Mostly cloudy with 5 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1800 m.

Saturday

Mix of sun and cloud with 0 to 10 cm of snow. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Use conservative route selection. Choose simple, low angle terrain with no overhead hazard.
  • Dial back your terrain choices if you are seeing more than 20 cm of new snow.
  • A moist or wet snow surface, pinwheeling, and natural avalanches are all indicators of a weakening snowpack.

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.

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.