Avalanche Canada has issued a warning for wide swaths of the British Columbia Interior into parts of Alberta, with “very dangerous” conditions forecast to persist until Monday.
The warning applies for mountainous regions of southwestern and northwestern B.C., as well as the eastern part of the province including the Rockies into Alberta’s Kananaskis Country.
Avalanche Canada says recent storms have deposited a large amount of snow on “weak layers” established early this month that are prone to human-triggered avalanches.
High-elevation stretches of two highways in the B.C. Interior have meanwhile reopened after they were shut down by heavy snowfall and winter storm conditions this week.
Highway 1 from Revelstoke to Golden had been closed due to avalanche risk, while the Ministry of Transportation’s DriveBC site said the Coquihalla Highway between Merritt and Hope had been shut as motorists faced wintry driving conditions.
Environment Canada had issued winter storm or snowfall warnings for both routes in addition to sections of Highway 3 and Highway 16, although most have since been removed.