North Rockies

Avoid avalanche terrain.

Strong wind, heavy precipitation, and elevated freezing levels will likely result in natural avalanches at all elevations.

High

• We are confident the likelihood of avalanches will increase with the forecast weather.
• We are uncertain about forecast rain amounts.

At the time of publishing we had not received reports of new avalanches, but we expect that a natural avalanche cycle started on Monday.

On Friday, explosive control targeting buried weak layers triggered one large (size 2.5) persistent slab near Pine Pass. This occurred on a south aspect at treeline.

By early Tuesday morning precipitation will likely switch from snow to rain, except in the alpine. The upper snowpack is expected to become saturated from the rain at treeline and below. In the alpine, extreme southwest wind will form deep deposits on north and east aspects.

A crust from early this month is buried 20 to 40 cm at treeline and below.

Another crust, with facets above it, can be found down 150 cm.

The remainder of the snowpack is well settled and bonded.

Monday Night
Cloudy. 5 to 20 mm of rain at treeline, snow in the alpine. 80 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 2°C. Freezing level 2000 to 2500 m.

Tuesday
Cloudy. 10 to 20 mm of rain at treeline, snow in the alpine. 70 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 2°C. Freezing level around 2500 m.

Wednesday
Mostly cloudy. 15 to 30 mm of rain. 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 3°C. Freezing level rising to 2700 m.

Thursday
Mostly cloudy. 10 to 25 cm of snow at treeline, rain at lower elevations. 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2°C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Avoid avalanche terrain during periods of heavy loading from new snow, wind, or rain.
• Use increased caution at all elevations. Storm snow is forming touchy slabs.
• Avoid areas with overhead hazard.
• Keep in mind that the high density of wet avalanches can make them destructive.