Kootenay Boundary

If the storm arrives earlier than expected on Thursday, alpine areas could get sporty by the end of the day.

Fair - Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain

Thursday: An incoming storm will build in the afternoon and likely peak some time towards the evening. Expect 5-10 cm snow by 4pm and then another 10 cm or so overnight. Freezing levels rising briefly to around 1500 m. Winds gusting to 60 km/h from the SW at ridgetop.Friday: The storm looks like it will linger in this area, giving a further 10 cm or so of new snow. Freezing levels should fall back to around 500 m, with treeline temperatures of around -4C. Winds 20-30 km/h from the NW.Saturday: A clearing trend with some sunny breaks. Temperatures falling to around -10C. Winds increasing from the NW in the afternoon at all elevations as arctic air starts to descend from the north.

Natural and skier-triggered avalanches were reported in recent storm snow on a variety of aspects up to size 1.5 on Tuesday.

Continued light amounts of snow accumulation brings recent totals to 10-20cm over surface hoar buried during Christmas. A little deeper (between 40 - 60 cm below the surface) you may find a weak layer of surface hoar on sheltered slopes or a crust/facet combo on steep solar aspects. As the load gradually increases and stiffens over top of these layers, they'll likely become more reactive. Overall the midpack is well settled and reasonably strong; however, thin and variable snowpack areas are faceted and weak. In general, snowpack depths are below seasonal average with many slopes below treeline still reported to be below threshold for avalanche activity, but a deeper snowpack is likely in the northern part of the region.