Lawinenlagebericht

Snoqualmie Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

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

Kernpunkte

If you’re out playing with your toys on Tuesday, be sure to bring that new gore-tex jacket along. An atmospheric river will hit the zone on Monday night and linger into the morning hours. Expect soggy travel conditions down low and areas of wind-drifted snow as you ascend. 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

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

    The most likely location for you to find consequential avalanches will be in wind-loaded terrain on Tuesday. Keep an eye out for pillow-like drifts that look “fat” as you ascend in elevation above the rain/snow line. They like to form near ridgelines, at the base of rocks or cliffs, or in confined chutes. Using small test slopes can give you an indication of how wind-drifted snow is reacting to your weight. If you notice cracking of the surface or blocks of snow failing during upslope tests, avoid wind-loaded features over 35 degrees.

    Slab avalanches could be more widespread if more than 6” of new snow piles up. Use quick handpits to look for heavy snow over weak snow to identify a Storm Slab problem.

    (12/23/2023)

    A thin slab avalanche may have been released Friday evening during a period of heavy snowfall and winds.  Similar avalanches could occur during this event.

    Photo: Luke Wright

Avalanche Discussion

An atmospheric river will impact Snoqualmie Pass during the overnight hours Monday into Tuesday. Some of you must have been good this year because it won’t be as warm or wet as our recent deluges. In fact, cold air being sucked through the mountain gaps should deliver some mixed or frozen precipitation compared to all rain. 

Some of you are definitely on the naughty list, though. We’ll undoubtedly be getting rain out of this event because of it. That means you’ll have to watch for lingering wet problems in the morning or if you notice rain falling on dry snow. They may be more pronounced in the western part of the zone. A cooling trend throughout the day should help taper the wet issues. 

A quick-hitting storm on Friday delivered roughly 8” of snow to the Pass, burying a crust in the process (12/22 interface). Over the weekend, a couple more inches petered in to increase depth over this interface. We do not expect any avalanches below the 12/22 during this event. If you dig down, you’ll find a series of crusts and strong grains that make up our early-season snowpack.

Although we’ve said it many times and in many ways this season, travel conditions at lower elevations remain a real hazard. It’s hard to still call it early when the calendar is approaching January, but that’s the mindset you should bring to the mountains. Open creeks and holes, exposed rocks and logs, plus frozen avalanche debris litter the landscape. This wet period won't help but likely only intensify these issues.

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