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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 14th, 2023–Feb 15th, 2023

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

Regions

Kootenay Boundary, Bonnington, Grohman, Kootenay Pass, Norns, Rossland, South Okanagan, Ymir, Moyie.

The weather over the next few days will provide great travel conditions but remain cautious around older wind slabs that could be sitting on weaker snow.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported in this region since the weekend.

Saturday some notable avalanches were remotely-triggered from low angle terrain in the Norns area north of Castlegar. These size 1 and 2 avalanches failed on a 30 cm deep weak layer and occurred on southeast slopes in upper treeline terrain. Otherwise, over the past few days there have been a few small (size 1) skier-triggered slab avalanches in the top 20 to 30 cm of snow.

In the coming days, slab avalanches will remain possible in the top 20 to 40 cm of snow, most likely on wind-affected slopes where this snow has more slab characteristics.

Snowpack Summary

Surface conditions are variable and include sun crusts, wind-affected snow, and in some places up to 10 cm of snow above surface hoar. Sheltered areas have 20 to 40 cm of soft snow from last week. This snow sits above a layer of surface hoar or decomposing crusts, that could develop into a problem when buried more deeply. The lower snowpack contains weak and faceted grains, but these layers have not recently produced avalanches.

Weather Summary

Tuesday night

Clear. Winds from the northwest at 15 km/h. Temperature -10˚C.

Wednesday

Clear. Winds from the southwest at 15 km/h. Temperature -10˚C to -3˚C. Freezing levels around 1100 m.

Thursday

A mix of sun and clouds. No precipitation. Winds from the southwest at 30 km/h. Temperature -9˚C in the morning rising to -2˚C in the afternoon. Freezing levels up to 1000 m.

Friday

A mix of sun and clouds. Flurries possible in the afternoon. Winds from the southwest 10 km/h. Temperature -6˚C in the morning rising to -3˚C in the afternoon. Freezing levels up to 1000 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.
  • Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.

Problems

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.