Lawinenlagebericht

Snoqualmie Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

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

On Wednesday, the combination of sun and warm temperatures will increase the potential for wet avalanches. Cool winds or too many clouds will prevent these slides from happening. So keep an eye on the snow surface and the weather to determine whether you have a problem.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Loose Wet

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

    We've got a few days of unseasonably warm and mostly sunny days under our belts now, with only minimal wet avalanche activity reported. However, we may start to lose the east flow on Wednesday, leading to an uptick in the potential for these slides. 

    As we've seen over the past few days, this problem isn't a slam dunk. The low, weak December sun will have less effect on the snow than at other times of the year. It may need to break down a surface crust before destabilizing the snow and triggering avalanches. That's a lot to ask. All the same, take note of changes in the snow surface wherever you're out playing. If the snow is getting sticky and moist, shedding from trees or rocks, or you see fresh, fan-shaped avalanche debris, wet loose avalanches could follow, so head for shadier slopes. 

    (12/29/2025)

    These rollerballs and wet loose likely released on Sunday during the initial sunny spell. 

    Photo: Carl Marrs

Avalanche Discussion

Snoqualmie Pass proper has largely been spared from the warm temperatures that have impacted much of the region this week. You can thank the east flow and low December sun angle for keeping the snow surface cool and in place, at least on the Pass proper and to the east. We have suspicions that temperatures were much warmer and that the snow was potentially more unstable on the West side of the Pass.

On Wednesday, the cold pool east of the Cascades may start to erode, allowing warm air to override the cold air at lower elevations. At the same time, clouds are supposed to increase throughout the day. So while it should be a very similar day to Tuesday, competing weather factors will determine how wet avalanche potential plays out. 

If you go poking around higher, rocky, and complex terrain, there could be a few lingering isolated wind slabs. An observation from Silver Peak on Tuesday highlighted cracking in wind-drifted snow. This problem should be trending toward unlikely with the warm weather and lack of new snow, but take a minute and evaluate slopes carefully before jumping into rocky chutes or "fat" looking convexities. 

The snowpack around Snoqualmie Pass contains a few notable crusts (12/24 and 12/18) interspersed with strong, well-settled snow. The base of the snowpack is a block of meltforms and crusts from our atmospheric river events. Moist snow on the surface from this warm period will eventually harden, forming a new crust. That process may have already begun in some areas.

 All the recent snow has definitely improved travel and coverage, but conditions are still thin. Open creeks, random holes, rocks, and bushes continue to make travel challenging.

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