Lawinenlagebericht

East Slopes Central

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Wed
Hochgebirge
1 · Gering
Waldgrenze
1 · Gering
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Kernpunkte

You will encounter some wet snow on Tuesday, thanks to another bout of rain, but the snowpack won't be falling apart like it usually would under these weather circumstances. Watch how it adapts throughout the day and begin dialing back your terrain selection if you do start sinking deeply into the snowpack or see large chunks of snow suddenly fall along ridgelines.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Loose Wet

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    1–1.5

    The East Central zone will receive around 0.5-0.75 inches of precipitation on Tuesday. It will start out as snow, but will quickly transition to rain midday. Under more normal circumstances, that much rain falling on a snowpack would significantly elevate avalanche hazard. In this case, however, it will be falling on a snowpack that already saw a ton of rain last week, and now has a thick surface crust of refrozen snow. So at this point, we expect the snowpack to be well adjusted to receiving even more rain. That being said, if you begin punching deeply through a wet, sloppy snowpack, put wet slab avalanches on your radar. Although highly unlikely, an avalanche of this nature would be large and destructive.

    It is much more likely you'll see a ton of tiny wet loose avalanches from that small amount of snow getting rained on. Natural point releases and rollerballs falling down from your equipment will signify this. We don't expect these avalanches to grow very big, but be cognizant of your terrain selection. A small avalanche could knock you off your feet and carry you into terrain traps below.

    Some greater hazard may lie in cornices falling down due to this additional rain and warming. This can happen without warning. Don't linger underneath corniced or cliffed ridgelines, especially when cornices look droopy and weak. Give them a wide berth as you travel along ridgelines, too.

    (3/6/2026)

    An army of tiny rollerballs releasing in recently fallen snow that was moistening. In this instance, they didn't quite have the moisture to turn into a wet loose avalanche. If this were a day like Tuesday, the might have.

    Photo: Payton Schiff

Avalanche Discussion

From March 15th -19th, a series of warm, wet systems brought rain well into the upper elevation terrain. Areas near the Cascade Crest recorded 3-4 inches of water, while the Wenatchees only received about 1/4 inch. This didn't stop the snowpack from fully wetting even in these easterly areas though, thanks to how warm temperatures were too. Not surprisingly, natural wet avalanches released during, and possibly immediately following, this extensive period of rain. This includes numerous wide, wet slabs observed in neighboring forecast zones. With persistent weak layers buried in the East Central snowpack too, a similar cycle likely occured.

Reports from the nearby Stevens Pass zone indicate that this water has finally drained, and the wet layers have frozen into strong crusts. While we expect the surface crust in East Central to be firm and thick, conditions often vary across large zones like this. A thinner, breakable crust would be more likely further east in the zone and at the highest elevations, where less rain fell during last week’s storms. 

Conditions could be significantly different in the farthest north reaches of the zone. Consider reading the East North forecast if you plan to get out to these areas. By reading that forecast, you will learn more about how you may be able to encounter some dry snow at the highest elevations.

A strong wind event will accompany the storm on Tuesday. This may help maintain stiff, slick surfaces which could be your greatest hazard of the day. Additionally, the zone is riddled with open creeks, random holes, exposed downed logs, and rocks. Lower elevations and southerly aspects are especially grim. Take your time as you travel around and plan for difficult mountain access.

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