Regions
Kootenay Boundary.
Danger ratings trending down due to low freezing levels after the recent rain.
Confidence
Fair - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
A mix of sun and cloud with a slight possibility of light flurries for the forecast period. freezing levels will remain in valley bottoms with alpine temperatures reaching -5C. Alpine winds should remain light southerlies.
Avalanche Summary
There we no new reports of avalanches on Sunday or Monday morning.
Snowpack Summary
Surface hoar is growing on a thick hard supportive rain crust that extends as high as 2100 m. Sun-exposed slopes are undergoing daily surface melt-freeze cycles, while shady slopes have a skiff of dry snow on the crust. Critical slopes are high elevation north aspects where preserved facets or buried surface hoar from earlier in the month may be lurking under dense storm slabs, and a facet/crust combination near the base of the snowpack may be persisting. Recent snowpack tests gave easy sudden planer results on well preserved surface hoar in the Southern Purcells where it was found down 30 cm on high north aspects.
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.