Avalanche forecast

East Slopes Central

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Winds will be much lighter on Wednesday, but you will still need to avoid stiff slabs of wind-drifted snow where you could trigger an avalanche. If you feel hollow-like drifts of snow or observe cracks shooting away from you, travel around steep slopes. Some fresh snow in the Wenatchee mountains may make avalanches more widespread than other locations throughout the zone.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    The winds likely did some damage on Tuesday. With steady wind speeds between 25 and 40mph, finding locations where this wind event did not impact the recent snow may be challenging. Expect widespread textured surfaces and stiff wind-board. Although the poor conditions left us with minimal observations, what little soft snow was available likely drifted into wind slabs. A few inches of new snow in the Wenatchee Mountains may make this problem more widespread near Mission Ridge and Blewett Pass. While none of these avalanches are likely to be large, don't let your guard down in terrain where getting knocked off your feet could have significant consequences. Steep, confined, rocky terrain will be the most likely location to trigger one of these avalanches. Wind slabs formed over various surfaces, including slick crusts and weaker snow, so they could take some time to become unreactive. If you identify deep, hollow-sounding drifts or observe any obvious signs of instability, such as cracks shooting away from you, move to lower-angle terrain or sheltered forested areas.

    (3/16/2023)

    Blowing snow off of ridges, like in this photo, are a sign that fresh wind slabs may be forming. 

    Photo: Katie Warren

Avalanche Discussion

It will be a mixed bag tomorrow, with dry snow avalanches and warming temperatures making small wet avalanches possible in steep terrain. Widespread crusts and wind-affected snow will likely limit the extent of wet avalanche problems, but you still may see some small wet slides tomorrow. Pay attention to the consistency of the snow below you and move onto lower-angle terrain if wet, heavy snow is easily sliding downhill.Last week we saw a decent bit of wind and quite a lot of sunshine. Other than isolated reports of small wind slabs and wet loose avalanches, there also hasn't been much avalanche activity or other signs of unstable snow. Southern aspects and lower elevations have thick crusts on the surface in most locations, while true north aspects still hold soft, recycled powder that is beginning to weaken and become faceted. At mid and upper elevations, a deep and layered winter snowpack exists. If you dig down, you will find older layers of melt-freeze crusts from around Christmas, MLK, and Valentine's day and a layer of surface hoar buried on January 4th. These layers are not a concern for avalanches at this time but are another reminder that we have not transitioned to a spring snowpack quite yet. 

Regions covered