Lawinenlagebericht

Snoqualmie Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Thu
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
1 · Gering
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Kernpunkte

On Wednesday, east winds should increase throughout the day, possibly moving snow into thin Wind Slabs at upper elevations. If you notice actively blowing snow or new cornices, you’ll get a sense of where there could be wind-loaded features to avoid.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Easterly winds should increase throughout the day, easily strong enough to easily move snow. The question then becomes, how much snow is available for transport? At upper elevations, we believe there’s enough that you could encounter some freshly built Wind Slabs on specific terrain features such as in confined gullies or near ridgelines. With east wind events, there is often more cross-loading or mid-slope loading than with our typical storm patterns. So take a good look for visual clues like actively blowing snow, fresh drifts, or new cornices to help you identify wind-loaded pockets to avoid, they may be on aspects or features you’re not used to.

    (12/29/2022) Blowing snow and sharp wind lips above a freshly formed wind slab. Photo: Dallas Glass

Avalanche Discussion

A strong and well-settled snowpack exists throughout much of the Snoqualmie Pass zone. If you’re out in the mountains, you should find generally safe avalanche conditions in many areas on Wednesday. The exception could be in wind-exposed areas as you ascend in elevation, particularly later in the day as wind speeds increase. We’ve flip-flopped wind direction multiple times in the past few days, potentially loading multiple aspects. Although we've had some windy periods, Wednesday should produce the windiest conditions we’ve seen in about a week.

Recent observations from the zone indicate that well-settled powder exists in sheltered areas, with wind-effected snow in more exposed locations. Several human-triggered avalanches occurred in wind-drifted areas over the New Year’s weekend. Additionally, sunshine on New Year's Day helped drive some Wet Loose avalanche activity and created a thin sun crust on slopes that see direct sunshine. You could find lingering evidence of this warmup as you mosey about on Wednesday, such as old rollerballs or that slicker crust. If you dig 1-1.5 feet below the surface, the easily identifiable Christmas Crust is a good snowpack marker with no major layers of concern below it at this time.

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