Avalanche forecast

Olympics

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 6 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

There may be just enough freshly drifted snow for an avalanche hazard on steep lee slopes at upper elevations.  Use caution around high consequence terrain like in chutes, or above cliffs, where a small avalanche could do real damage.  Use general travel caution in low-snow areas. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–1.5

    Look for shallow deposits of wind blown snow on leeward slopes at upper elevations and in isolated areas at mid-elevations.  These avalanches won't be large, so the real concern is that they break wider than you expect in terrain where they've layered over older weaker snow.  Small avalanches would be especially problematic in high-consequence terrain, like in chutes or above cliffs. 

    While the avalanche danger will likely point to Low across most of the terrain,  you still need use caution around specific terrain features where winds have drifted new snow.   Shooting cracks, textured snow along or below ridgelines, or unstable snow on test slopes are easy ways to gauge the wind slab hazard. 

    Despite cool weather forecast for Saturday, if the sun pops out, watch for rollerballs and even small wet loose avalanches on very steep sunny slopes with snow cover.  These small slides are unlikely to be a hazard except in isolated terrain features. 

    Example: Blowing snow and drifts highlight potentially wind loaded areas. 

    Photo: Sam Luthy Siemens

Avalanche Discussion

Hurricane Ridge picked up 2-3" of snow by Friday afternoon with temperatures near 30F.  Another 1-2" may fall tonight before showers peter out on Saturday.   On shady aspects with snow coverage, the new snow may have built over some weak snow grains.  On Thursday, NPS rangers observed 0.5" of faceted snow with a layer of "droopy" 3-4 mm surface hoar capping it. This weak snow sits above a 6" thick crust, which acts as a "new ground" on all aspects with snow coverage. There were no avalanche concerns on Thursday and likely also on Friday.   Even if the avalanche risk feels minimal over the weekend, track the upper snowpack as we head into a potentially snowy second half of the month. 

We're not sure we can call it "early season coverage" since it's mid-February, but coverage has retreated to the point that there isn't enough snow for avalanche hazard at lower elevations and on many sun-exposed aspects in the Olympics. Remember that if there's enough snow to ride a slope, there's enough snow to support avalanche activity. The other aspect of the thin coverage is that random holes, and open creeks are common. Travel hazards can exceed avalanche risk in much of the terrain. Give yourself extra time to manage the numerous obstacles and snow conditions.   And pray for snow!  

Regions covered