Lawinenlagebericht

Mt Hood

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 4 years ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

Expect generally safe conditions in the morning before a storm rolls into the area.  New wind slabs may form near and above treeline before sunset.  Don't let a small avalanche rake you through rocks or other ground hazards. 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Small wind slabs may form by the end of the day as a storm with strong winds and light snow moves into the region.  Strong NW winds may cause unusual loading patterns and load a variety of aspects.  If denser wind slabs build over weak snow on shady slopes near treeline, they may be touchier and easier to trigger than you expect.  Look for shooting cracks in the new snow and feel for firmer hollow sounding snow to help you assess the developing hazard.

    While we're generally talking about small avalanches on Tuesday, remember that terrain traps such as valley bottoms, cliffs, or recently exposed talus will all increase the consequences of even a small avalanche.  Blowing snow will also likely make navigation difficult above treeline as the day wears on. 

    Continued snowfall and shifting winds Tuesday night and into Wednesday may cross-load slopes and redistribute snow onto different aspects.  

    Example from earlier this winter: You may find that small wind slabs have formed below ridgelines and are touchy by the end of the day on Tuesday. 

    Photo: Andrew Kiefer

Avalanche Discussion

We'll leave the mild spring-like temperatures of Monday behind and enter a cooler snowier pattern midweek that should help refresh surfaces and make the landscape look more wintery again.  Heading into this storm, the 2/26-3/2 atmospheric river event altered the snowpack leaving variable conditions. Below treeline, snow surfaces were covered in tree debris with a few south and west-facing slopes melted out to bare ground. Between 5500-6500ft, 3-5in of cold recycled powder could be found over a firm crust. Above 6500ft, snow surfaces were a mixed bag with plenty of wind-affected, grabby snow. 

There was an impressive avalanche cycle on Mt Hood last week during the wet and wild storm. During peak precipitation intensity on 2/28, several very large natural avalanches released high on the mountain. In a few cases, these avalanches ran through the rain/snow line around 8000ft and entrained significant wet snow creating very large, river-like debris piles. Check out a few of the largest documented avalanches from the 2/26-3/2 atmospheric river in our avalanche occurrence database: Clark Canyon, Eliot Glacier Headwall, White River Canyon.

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