Lawinenlagebericht

West Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Wed
Hochgebirge
3 · Erheblich
Waldgrenze
3 · Erheblich
Unterhalb
2 · Mässig
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Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 3 years ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

Another day of warm and rainy weather awaits on Tuesday due to an atmospheric river. Natural avalanche activity is expected to diminish but not be eliminated. You may want to wait a bit longer before heading back out there.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wet Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Likely
    Größe
    1–2.5

    On Tuesday, the only place you’ll likely find dry snow in our zone is high on a volcano. Expect a rain-soaked, punchy snowpack ripe for human-triggered avalanches. We anticipate natural activity to diminish but not eliminated. Slabs will be more likely at upper elevations and could run on the 11/30 interface. Slides could fail on or near the ground in isolated locations as liquid water fully saturates the shallow snowpack. Be leery of open slopes where larger avalanches can start, run, or stop. Of course, loose avalanches will also be a concern. Any slope over 35 degrees could produce a consequential avalanche if terrain traps are involved.

    (1/14/2023)

    Example: This wet slide occurred during an atmospheric river last season. We expect you could encounter similar avalanches this year.

    Photo: NPS Rainier Rangers

Avalanche Discussion

Temperatures soared into the 40s around the zone on Monday as rain swept through the West South and soaked our early-season snowpack. It’s hard to imagine much more coming our way, but Monday night will be the main event. We anticipate that many slopes will have shed their instabilities by the time Tuesday dawns, allowing us to drop the hazard level. That doesn’t mean that Tuesday won’t be dangerous. The heavy rain will continue destabilizing the snowpack, and avalanches will happen. 

Apart from lingering natural avalanches and human-triggered slides, a whole mess of wet snow-related problems likely awaits you in the mountains. Unconsolidated wet snow makes for difficult and dangerous travel conditions. Raging creeks, holes, exposed natural hazards such as logs and boulders, and avalanche debris will be commonplace across the landscape.

We’ve had a hectic few days weather-wise, putting the snowpack under great stress. First, we received multiple feet of snow on top of an observed weak early-season snowpack, resulting in natural and human-triggered avalanches on Saturday. Then came the rain. The final numbers are yet to be determined, but the volcanoes have received roughly 5” of rain, while the crest is closer to 2”. All in all, it likely won’t be a very nice day to be outside playing in the mountains on Tuesday. So, give the snowpack the time it needs to adjust and wait for a more attractive day to head out and explore.

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