Kootenay Boundary

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Good - Timing of incoming weather systems is uncertain

Were looking at a couple of nice days. Freezing levels will climb during the day but are forecast to return to valley bottom overnight. Sunday will see a high of -5C in the Alpine with light westerly winds. Monday will have a high of 0C and light northwesterly winds with some clouds in the afternoon. Tuesday will be much the same. No new precipitation is expected through the forecast period.

Things appear to be locked up tight and no new avalanches have been reported in the last couple of days.

Up to 5cm of snow covers a widespread layer of surface hoar above a crust that extends all the way to ridge crest. The curst is effectively "capping" the snowpack and doing a good job of protecting the buried weak layers bellow. However, I suspect that the  mid-January surface hoar layer could still produce an avalanche if given a large enough trigger in the right spot. It can be found down about 1m in the alpine and 50-60cm at treeline. The mid-December crust/facet/surface hoar weakness may persist in the mid to lower snowpack at higher elevations.