Avalanche forecast

West Slopes Central

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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

Avoid all steep slopes on Monday as a storm will deposit six inches to over a foot Sunday night through Monday morning. esses. Avoid all steep slopes, as it's likely that you can trigger large, surprising avalanches that can kill you.

Avalanche problems

  • Storm Slabs

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

    We're getting a rapid load of snow that will result in dangerous avalanche conditions on Monday. Avoid all steep slopes, and if you experience whumphing or natural avalanches, take another step back and avoid traveling beneath large avalanche paths as well.

    There could be a natural cycle early in the morning, followed by gradual improvement in stability throughout the day as precipitation rates decrease. In wind-drifted areas, avalanches will be more reactive and could be well over two feet deep. 

    Example photo: you can trigger avalanche like this, or larger, beneath the new snow layer on Monday. 

    Photo: Irene Henninger

Avalanche Discussion

Very little information exists from the West Central zone right now. We expect conditions to most closely mirror the West North zone, where around a foot or more of snow sits over recent crusts. Unlike other zones, the West North zone has been finding minimal evidence of persistent weak layers, due to the thicker snowpack structure. Recent storm interfaces and heavier snow overlying lighter snow in the last week remain our main concern, like in THIS observation from Cascade Pass, just north of the West Central zone.

Meanwhile, all the other neighboring zone are finding information that is pointing them more definitively towards persistent weak layers and resulting spookier avalanches that could surprise you with remote triggers and propagation traveling further than expected (observation), (observation). If you're traveling near one of these zones, read through that zone's forecast and take it into account as well. 

Forecasts call for 6-10" of snow Sunday night, and another 6 or so inches Monday morning. From here, precipitation will slow a bit for a few days. 

 

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