Avalanche forecast

Mt Hood

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sun
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
3 · Considerable
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Highlights

Stormy weather will continue to cause dangerous avalanche conditions at Mt Hood Saturday. With so much new snow, you may trigger avalanches on any steep slope greater than 35 degrees that isn’t stripped bare by the recent winds.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    2–2.5

    Very strong winds likely redistributed the new snow at mid and upper elevations creating scoured slopes and thick firm slabs. You likely won’t have to guess too much to figure out which is which. These wind-loaded areas could produce large dangerous avalanches. Avoid traveling on steep slopes below cornices/wind lips, along the base of cliffs, and near the top of wind-affected gullies. 

    There’s a good chance many of these wind slabs are firm. This makes them particularly tricky to assess and manage. Sometimes they fail after others crossed the slope, and frequently break above you. Let your eyes be your guide. If it looks wind loaded, then steer clear of it until the snowpack has time to adjust.

    Heavy drifting at treeline. Photo: Joe Dellaporta

  • Storm Slabs

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

    Away from the brunt of the wind, the storm snow continues to pile up. You may trigger avalanches that fail within the storm snow or at the old/new interface. Give the snowpack time to gain strength by avoiding steep open slopes. 

    Since there’s so much new snow, some of our common observations like small slopes and up-tracks tests may not tell us everything we want to know. You may need to dig deeper with your hand or shovel and see if the snowpack fails suddenly in blocks to look for the storm slab problem. Make sure you check all the way down to the old/new interface. This is frequently marked by a crust at lower elevations.

    (2/27/2023)

    You can use  shovel tilt tests  like this to look for possible weak layers within the new storm snow. 

    Photo: Joe Dellaporta

Avalanche Discussion

Mt Hood will remain in the bullseye of this ongoing storm Friday night and Saturday. Snow totals already exceed a foot and a half in most areas, and more is on the way. Expect the avalanche danger to peak during periods of intense snowfall and/or actively blowing snow. 

As the storm starts to ease Saturday, the winds should start to die down. With more showery precipitation, you could see some sun breaks, especially mid-morning. While these will likely result in rollerballs and a few loose wet avalanches, increasing clouds should bring them to an end. If you start to see new piles of tear-drop shaped debris, stay out from under similar slopes while the sun is out. 

On Friday ski patrols and avalanche professionals in the Mt Hood area reported plenty of new slides. Very easy to trigger loose dry avalanches were common at lower elevations, along with soft storm slabs breaking within the new snow. The stormy weather limited observations higher in the terrain, and we don’t know quite how the storm played out at these upper elevations. So, far reports include “very low density snow” and “excellent travel conditions.”

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