Kootenay Boundary

Rising temperatures could mean that avalanche hazard increases throughout the day. Choose more conservative terrain if significant warming is experienced, especially at lower elevations where a surface hoar layer could catch people by surprise.

Moderate - Freezing levels are uncertain

THURSDAY NIGHT - Mainly cloudy / northwest winds, 20-30 km/h / alpine low temperature near -5FRIDAY - Cloudy with sunny periods / northwest winds, 30-50 km/h / alpine high temperature near -1 / freezing level 1500 m / alpine temperature inversionSATURDAY - Cloudy with sunny periods / northwest winds, 20-30 km/h / alpine high temperature near +5 / freezing level 3000 m / alpine temperature inversionSUNDAY - A mix of sun and cloud / northwest winds, 60-80 km/h / alpine high temperature near -1 / freezing level 1500 m

Several natural and explosives triggered storm slab avalanches to size 2 were reported on northerly aspects on Wednesday.

30-50 cm of recent snow has fallen in the region. This snow sits on surface hoar (feathery crystals) in shaded areas that are sheltered from the wind, thin rain crusts in some areas, and sun crusts on south facing slopes. The surface hoar is most prominent at treeline and below. Recent snowpack tests suggest that the snow may be poorly bonded to these layers in some areas. Another prominent weak layer in the snowpack is a layer that formed in early December and is buried approximately 70-110 cm. This layer consists of a rain crust, surface hoar, and facets (sugary snow). There have been no recent reports of avalanches on this layer, however a large load, such as a cornice fall may still have the potential to trigger large avalanches on this layer.