Avalanche forecast

Stevens Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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

The warm temperatures are maintaining dangerous wet avalanche conditions. You could trigger a wet slide on a steep slope, or unpredictable wet slides could run long distances from above. Stick to conservative terrain and avoid lingering in gullies or below large open slopes. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wet Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    2–3

    The ongoing wet avalanche cycle may be decreasing in frequency, but the destructive and unpredictable nature of these avalanches still requires conservative decision-making. Avoid steep slopes with heavy, saturated snow where you could trigger a wet avalanche. 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. 

    When the skies cleared on Tuesday, wet loose and crowns from wet slab avalanches were widespread throughout the Cascades. With sustained warm temperatures, liquid water in the snowpack will keep unpredictable wet slab avalanches possible, particularly at upper elevations. 

    (3/25/2025)

    A deep crown, over 1000ft wide, of a very large (D3) wet slab avalanche.

    Mt Mastiff, WNW, 6,500ft

    Photo: Josh Hirshberg

Avalanche Discussion

There is a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon on Wednesday and overnight into Thursday. So if you plan to be out late in the day or overnight, prepare accordingly and get off ridglines and exposed terrain if tall, dark clouds begin building. Thunderstorms can come with heavy precipitation that could quickly increase the avalanche danger. 

The Stevens Pass zone has currently received over 4" of liquid water at 5000ft as of Tuesday afternoon. We expect that avalanche activity is tapering off, but until the weather brings us a cooling trend, there is still potential for 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. Traveling in deep, heavy, wet snow will be challenging, so prepare for extra travel time.  

On Tuesday, an NWAC forecaster observed widespread, very large wet slab avalanches at upper elevations in the Highway 2 corridor. At lower elevations, smaller wet loose avalanches ran on most steep slopes. The snowpack was saturated to about 1 ft deep, with moist snow below that. Rain runnels and water pooling on deeper layers in the snowpack indicated that drain channels had been established and free water was moving through the snowpack. 

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