Avalanche forecast

East Slopes Central

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Fri
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Unusual weather means unusual avalanche hazard. You may be able to tiptoe around steep terrain on Thursday, but knowing water is continually entering the snowpack and working its way down to dubious layers within should have you highly suspect of doing so. If you see new avalanches occurring, do not enter onto a slope steep enough to slide or where an avalanche could fall from above onto you.

Avalanche problems

  • Wet Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1.5–2.5

    At middle and upper elevations, instability in weak layers buried 2-5 feet down in the snowpack could suddenly reawaken as water worms its way in. Wet slab avalanches are nearly impossible to predict, and we have very little information indicating whether a cycle has occurred yet in most of the zone. Ultimately, another day of rain and unseasonably warm temperatures is a very good reason to back off from steep slopes. You can dig into the snowpack to assess whether buried weak layers are still dry, which would indicate better stability, but we have evidence that they are not on the eastern side of the zone. The snowpack is clearly unstable if you see natural avalanches releasing.

    Smaller wet loose avalanches are unlikely, but not impossible. You can find a small but very steep test slope to push on and see if the surface snow wants to slide. Don't linger directly under cliffy terrain or sagging cornices where a heavy block of snow could fall and hurt you or trigger a slide. Any size avalanche of wet, heavy snow will be hard to escape and can carry you into terrain traps below. 

    (3/8/2026)

    An example of a large wet slab avalanche that released on buried weak layers after a period of rain.

    Photo: Mt Baker Ski Patrol

Avalanche Discussion

Since the onset of rain, weather stations along the Cascade Crest have recorded 0.9-2.4 inches of rain. 1.9 inches alone fell at the Fish Lake station Tuesday night into Wednesday. A bit more is on the way on Thursday for these same areas, particularly the Salmon La Sac. That's a lot of water swimming around in the snowpack, where weak layers we have been tracking since early February lurk. This includes facets around a crust that formed on 02/07, and surface hoar that was buried on 02/13. These layers were buried by 3-4 feet of snow on the eastern side of the zone, and nearly twice that on the western side last week. Despite not getting much rain, Mission Ridge Pro Patrol has reported these weak layers moistening and showing concerning snowpack test results. We don't know if water has similarly worked its way down through all the recent snow in the La Sac, but we can make some inferences based on how much rain has fallen there. All in all, the snowpack will not be completely stable again until it refreezes so set your mindset accordingly.

Temperatures may dip just below freezing at the highest reaches of NWAC forecast elevations in the northern end of the zone Wednesday night. Wind speeds will also be strong to extreme. This could create a crust on the snow surface. It's unlikely to make a considerable difference in avalanche hazard, but it could lower the already low likelihood of wet loose avalanches.

Regions covered