Avalanche forecast

Selkirk Mountains

Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Mon
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Warm, sunny weather following a weak overnight refreeze warrants keeping wet snow hazard potential at the forefront of your terrain selections today. Slopes facing east through south to west will soften fastest and where triggering a wet snow slide is more likely to unfold. Conditions can change quickly in the spring, so be willing to adjust your objectives and retreat to lower-angled terrain away from steeper hazards if you see rollerballs gaining mass or encounter a punchy snow surface.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    This time of year, the sun tracks higher in the sky and delivers more direct radiation to all aspects, allowing snow surface conditions to change rapidly. Wet snow problems may develop quickly, especially with a slick crust underlying the surface snow, which could make triggering a wet snow slide easier, and some may fail naturally. The lower elevation snowpack has been exposed to warmer temperatures for a longer period of time than middle and upper elevations, and has had a bit more time to adjust to the warming. Upper elevation slopes that have received more dry snow recently and exist in a colder environment will be experiencing a more dynamic swing of the pendulum and where wet snow sluffs could be more widespread, particularly east through south to west aspects.

    Diligently monitor changes on the surface, plan your route carefully, and be prepared to adjust plans if you observe signs of instability such as loose wet avalanches, pinwheels, or a rapid transition from dry to moist snow.

    The danger will rise during the day as sun exposure and the ambient air temperature increase. Observing snow shed around cliff bands and rocks is one of your first clues that wet hazards are developing. Photo from the East Cabinets. 

    March 28, 2026.

    Photo: Micah Krmpotich

  • Wet Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1.5–2

    Slabs that formed from storms between the end of March to April 3 will continue to consolidate under increasingly warm air temperatures and direct solar input. The lack of a solid overnight freeze may allow meltwater to work down through the shallow slab, and that moisture could lubricate the bond between the slab and the slick crust that it is resting on. This lubricating process could destabilize the slab and cause avalanches to fail naturally or more prone to human or machine triggering. A small loose wet avalanche can be the precursor of a larger and more dangerous slab avalanche - which would have cascading, high consequences. With multiple shallowly buried slick sliding surfaces, a slab avalanche could travel fast down slope and quickly grow larger, and the dense debris can be very difficult to escape.

    The best way to avoid this scenario is to pay attention to how wet the snow surface gets, monitor how deep you sink into wet snow, and avoid being on or below slopes over 30 degrees during peak daytime warming.

    In the previous days, field teams have observed propagating results within the slab of recent snow. Meltwater working through the slab today could weaken these interfaces even more or lubricate the bond between the slab and crust layers.

    Photo: Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center

Avalanche Discussion

Overnight temperatures across all forecast zones were mild and freezing levels ranged 5,500 feet across the north to well above 6,000 feet in the south. Thankfully, skies were mostly clear overnight which likely helped surfaces cool through strong radiation loss. Places where air temperatures were just above freezing numerically could have a refrozen egg-shell on the surface this morning. This will not prevent the inevitable, but may slow the onset of surface softening/ wetting. Evaluate how thick the surface refreeze is as a guide to help determine which steeper terrain or elevation bands become off-limits first.

As warm days stack on each other, the bulls-eye areas to encounter  wet snow hazards are still focused on sunny slopes. However, the wetting influence may migrate toward the northern half of the compass if high clouds blanket the skies overnight Sunday as forecast. This could generate enough of a greenhouse effect to start to unravel northerly-facing slopes. 

This would initially be in the form of increased rollerballing that entrains additional volume while trundling downhill and be most concerning if you're lingering in a blinded depression or terrain trap where you can’t see above you. There would also be the growing potential that the inverted storm slab that formed recently failed as a hybrid avalanche problem - a wet, softening matured storm slab. Regardless of the underlying mechanics, wet or moist slab avalanches in the spring can generate a pile of concrete-like debris that can be quite challenging to escape from.

If this all sounds a little complicated, it’s because it is. Although spring has sprung, the snowpack is a bit more complex than what we typically think of when lining out late-season objectives. Conditions still warrant making timely decisions about where to recreate and not treating all slopes as “open season”. Keep your avalanche brain engaged, read the environment around you, and diligently look for small changes to try to stay ahead of the wet snow curve.

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