Precipitation will continue to accumulate today as the temperature begins to cool.
It will be winter up high and spring in the valley. Keep an eye on changing conditions.
Much of our region has and will continue to experience heavy amounts of precipitation. Warm temperatures will have this fall as rain at lower elevations and as heavy wet snow at higher elevations. Moderate to strong southwest winds all also associated with this storm.
Whether it is rain, heavy snow, or a large wind deposit of snow, avalanche activity is expected to increase.
Near Kootenay Pass on Saturday, there was an accidental skier-triggered storm slab avalanche. It was on a north aspect at treeline. The triggered point was on a convex roll.
Also on Saturday, a little further north, near Whitewater, there was another storm slab avalanche that was accidentally triggered by a skier. This one was a size two and was also on a north aspect and started in the alpine at a depth of 15 to 20 cm down.
By the end of the day Tuesday, parts of our region will see more than 40 mm of precipitation fall. Due to a high freezing level much of this will be rain with snow at higher elevations. South to southwest winds will redistribute any available snow at higher elevations. End of the day Monday may see around 40 cm accumulation. There is a widespread crust down 30 to 50 cm, except on north-facing slopes at treeline and above, where it sits on old, faceted surfaces, and surface hoar in some areas.
The mid-pack is generally well-settled.
In some areas, the lower snowpack includes a layer of weak facets near the ground. No recent avalanches have been reported on this layer. However, we continue to track the layer and watch for any signs of it becoming active again.
Monday Night
Cloudy, up to 25 cm accumulation of wet snow at higher elevations with more around Kootenay Pass, winds southwest 20 to 30 km/h gusting to 50, freezing levels cooling to 1600 m.
Tuesday
Cloudy, 15 to 25 cm accumulation with the highest amounts to the east, winds southwest 30 to 40 km/h, freezing levels 1500 m.
Wednesday
Cloudy with sunny breaks, up to 10 cm accumulation by morning, winds west 15 km/h, freezing levels starting at 500 m and climbing to 1500 m.
Thursday
Cloudy with sunny periods, trace accumulation, winds west 10 to 20 km/h, freezing levels climbing back up to 1600 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
