High avalanche risk in parts of B.C. coast due to rain, winds and warm temperatures

Houses are seen on a hill in Vancouver, with the North Shore Mountains in the distance, on Thursday, November 23, 2023. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)

VANCOUVER — Heavy rain, high winds and warm temperatures along British Columbia’s south coast are creating dangerous avalanche conditions on slopes across the region this weekend.

Avalanche Canada says it has raised the danger level to high — the fourth highest risk category on a scale of five — for much of the mountainous terrain to the north and east of Metro Vancouver.

The warning says that natural avalanches are “likely” while human-triggered slides are “very likely,” as the new snow from recent storms is “showing poor bonding to underlying weak layers.”

High avalanche danger levels have also been placed on parts of Vancouver Island, the West Kootenay region and parts of the North Coast from Kitimat to Terrace.

Environment Canada has issued rainfall warning for Metro Vancouver’s north shore and Howe Sound, while wind gusts reaching 90 kilometres an hour are expected on parts of Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast.

The weather agency has also issued a winter storm warning for Highway 3 at Kootenay Pass between Grand Forks and Creston, as almost 35 centimetres of wet snow could create “messy and potentially hazardous driving conditions.”

“Visibility may be suddenly reduced at times in heavy snow,” the warning says. “Adjust to winter driving behaviour and use winter tires and chains.”

The B.C. Transportation Ministry’s DriveBC information system says a weather advisory is also in effect for Highway 1 from Sicamous to the Alberta border, with developing avalanche conditions leading to possible “rapid condition changes” and “short notice closures.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2025.

The Canadian Press