Avalanche Forecast

The ridge which has been around so much over the US west coast this month will build a bit and shift east over the Northwest on Wednesday. This should cause a day of partly cloudy or partly sunny weather and mild above freezing temperatures through the daylight hours in the Olympics and Cascades. This weather and the low sun angle should cause little change in snow conditions. There are no major concerns for Hurricane Ridge until some significant snow is received.

A front will begin to spread clouds and moisture to the area Wednesday night. Some light rain or snow may reach the Olympics and north Cascades Wednesday night.

An extended cold and dry period was seen earlier this month that caused faceting of the shallow snowpack at the surface and at the ground in most areas.

The last storm cycle that brought significant snow was about 20-23 December. It is hard to tell how much snow this caused at Hurricane but probably a few inches.

Otherwise the weather since mid December has been characterized by minor wet snow and rain and periods of mild and routinely above freezing temperatures including at Hurricane Ridge. This eliminated any faceted snow that might have been at Hurricane Ridge.

Snow reports from NWAC pro observers lately at Hurricane on north slopes indicate a shallow and consolidated stable snow pack with alternating layers of crusts and rounded grains. Snow on solar aspects is shallow or non-existent.

A weak front crossed the Northwest on Tuesday. This will do little to change conditions at Hurricane. The avalanche danger will continue to be low or non-existent at the lower elevations due to the meager snowpack.

The following photo is of Klahane Ridge showing the shallow snowpack from 22 December by NWAC Observer Katy Reid.