Lawinenlagebericht

East Slopes Central

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Fri
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
2 · Mässig
Unterhalb
2 · Mässig
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Kernpunkte

Wet avalanches and uncertainty go hand in hand. While the likelihood of avalanches is decreasing, dangerous wet avalanches are still possible. You're most likely to trigger smaller loose avalanches on steep slopes, but don't linger in gullies at lower elevations or below large open slopes where an unpredictable, very large, wet avalanche could run from upper elevations. 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wet Slabs

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

    Wet slabs are becoming less likely, but with deep, saturated snow, you could still easily trigger wet loose avalanches on steep slopes.  Even though the wet slab avalanche cycle may be decreasing in frequency, the destructive and unpredictable nature of these avalanches still requires conservative decision-making. Wet slabs may run naturally, so make sure you are aware of all overhead terrain. Travel quickly through runouts and gullies where large avalanches can funnel and run long distances into lower elevations. Cornice failure and glide avalanches involving the entire season's snowpack are still a concern as well. Give overhung cornices and deep, open glide cracks a wide berth. 

    Sustained warm temperatures and plenty of liquid water in the snowpack make avalanche forecasting for these problems uncertain and challenging. Despite a subtle cooling trend and decreasing likelihood of avalanches, conditions in the backcountry are in a low likelihood but high consequence state. Don't try to thread the needle with this soggy snowpack, and choose conservative terrain with limited exposure to overhead hazard. 

    On Tuesday, an NWAC forecaster in the Icicle Creek area reported very large crowns from wet slab avalanches at upper elevations and widespread wet loose avalanches. 

    (3/25/2025)

    A very large natural slab avalanche (at least D3) on Big Slide peak in Icicle Ck. This likely occurred March 23-24th. 7,500ft, SE.

    Photo: Josh Hirshberg

Avalanche Discussion

Rain overnight on Wednesday will add more uncertainty to this forecast. We expect the convective nature of these storms to produce high precipitation rates for a short duration of time, but it will still add additional water to our already very wet snowpack. A gradual cooling trend starting on Thursday will help to dial back wet avalanche concerns as the week goes on. 

While we expect we are past peak instability until the weather brings us freezing temperatures, there is still potential for large wet avalanches. Consider the significant consequences of simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. While triggering a wet loose avalanche is becoming less likely, a large wet slab running to valley bottom should still be a consideration. Choose your terrain wisely, paying attention to the terrain even thousands of vertical feet above you. You should also expect to battle challenging travel in deep, wet snow.

Areas closer to the Cascade Crest received significantly more precipitation, and average temperatures have been warmer. Farther east in the zone, much less water fell. Weather stations in the Wenatchee Mts picked up 0.2-0.4” as of Monday afternoon, while areas closer to the crest and further north received .75-1.00 inches of water. On Monday and Tuesday, observers in the Holden area reported widespread natural wet avalanche activity, both from over the weekend and ongoing throughout the day. Wet slabs up to size D3 were frequent on northerly aspects, while smaller, D1-2, wet loose avalanches were more common on southern aspects. Some of these slides traveled over 4000 vertical feet from 7000ft to the valley bottom. 

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