Lawinenlagebericht

West Slopes Central

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Tue
Hochgebirge
3 · Erheblich
Waldgrenze
3 · Erheblich
Unterhalb
3 · Erheblich
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Kernpunkte

The majority of this atmospheric river occurred Sunday and into the night, when we expect peak avalanche activity occurred. Temperatures will stay warm and wet, so highly unpredictable and destructive large wet avalanches will continue at a slightly less frequent rate. Avoid all steep slopes, and if you choose to travel beneath large, steep terrain, including crossing gullies well below treeline connected to upper paths, do so with haste. 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wet Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Likely
    Größe
    2–3

    Wet avalanches that aren't the small wet loose variety are, by and large, highly unpredictable. You never know when they are going to release. Even explosives at a ski area might not trigger a wet slab avalanche, but three hours later the entire slope might decide to rip out all on its own.  Cornices can unexpectedly come tumbling down, triggering large and destructive avalanches on the slopes beneath them. Glide avalanches could release without warning. 

    Although your impact on a slope probably won't be what will initiate one of these wet avalanches, this still isn't a day to travel in steep terrain, given the massive temperature increase and water that we've received in the last 48 hours. Previous to the rain, we've received 2-3 plus feet of snow over the last week or so, which heightens our concern for travel on steep terrain.

    The top of the lower elevation band could hold enough snow, plus a more saturated snowpack, to produce large wet avalanches. Large or very large avalanches from higher up may also run into the lower elevation band, catching you very unexpectedly, possibly in areas where snow isn't even in sight. 

    The probability of one of these large wet avalanches releasing is slightly reduced from Sunday night or the previous day, but they definitely may still happen. If you choose to travel beneath large avalanche paths, don't stop and have lunch under any massive overhead hazards - travel through this area quickly. 

    (1/7/2025)

    This big wet slide released earlier in the year in the neighboring Snoqualmie Pass zone. It gouged into older snowlayers. Based on the debris, this appears to have occurred after the storm ended. WS-N-D2.5/R2-U

    Photo: Dallas Glass

Avalanche Discussion

We're in the midst of a rapid transition across the Cascades from weeks of rather stellar dry powder snow to warm temperatures and the deluge of an atmospheric river typical of the glorious PNW. The last couple of weeks have been riddled with human-triggered avalanches, partial burials, and a few unexpectedly more stable days that have for the most part, caught us by surprise in neighboring zones. Some of the active days resulted in large (D2) avalanches being triggered, whereas at other times we predominantly had reports of several small (D1) avalanches. 

Recent West Central observations include THIS one from Lake Serene on Saturday, with an abundance of recent avalanches visible, and THIS trip I took last week, when I triggered many small slab avalanches in the Highway 2 corridor.

Temperatures will continue to increase over the next few days, although we're through with the bulk of the precipitation by Monday evening. Expect the snowpack to remain soggy, and lingering wet avalanche problems to remain a concern until we get a freeze. 

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