Avalanche forecast

Blues

Wallowa Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sun
Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

The weather the last week and a half has been warm and rather benign. This weather has allowed the snowpack to consolidate and gain strength. Below freezing temperatures Friday night have helped with the strengthening process as well. As a result generally safe avalanche conditions are forecasted for the Blue Mountains for today and tomorrow.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    There is a slight chance we will see thin windslabs on leeward east facing terrain today. The small amount of snow from  today could get transported by west winds onto east facing slopes in the form of windslabs. These thin windslabs may not bond well to the old crusty snow surface they rest upon.  It will be possible to trigger small avalanches on steep (>35 degrees) leeward facing terrain especially near ridgelines.

Avalanche Discussion

It was nice to see an observation and photo posted from the Blues the other day ! The middle of last week the NE mountains and the Blues in particular experienced a late Winter thaw with unseasonably warm temperatures during the day and (for the Blues) above freezing temperatures at night. The observation included a photo taken of glide cracks that have formed on the snow surface in that particular location. The glide cracks form during warm weather over the course of a few days. Melt water percolates down through the snow and when it reaches the ground it lubricates between the ground and snowpack causing the snowpack to slowly glide down hill. If the weather in the Blues were to continue to be unseasonably warm for days on end the glide cracks could turn into glide avalanches. However, this weekend's weather looks to be more typical for this time of year with temperatures below freezing at night and hovering around or slightly above freezing during the day. Therefore, I don't think we need to be concerned about these glide cracks through the weekend and into next week. If you haven't already, check out the observation posted by Larry M. on March 18.

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