Avalanche forecast

Mt Hood

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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

Additional overnight accumulation and an uptick in wind speeds on Sunday night will create dangerous avalanche conditions in wind-loaded terrain above 6000 ft on Monday. You’ll most likely find these unstable slabs on steep leeward slopes, below cornices, or in rocky complex terrain. Small loose avalanches may run on steep terrain near the snowline or on sun-exposed slopes if the clouds break. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Additional accumulation and increasing wind speeds Sunday night through early Monday will create a mix of soft and hard wind slabs above 5500 ft. Most of these slabs are likely sitting on top of a crust that was buried on 2/7. These wind slabs will likely be most sensitive to human triggering during the morning hours or during periods of heavy snowfall and active loading. 

    Look for fresh deposits of windblown snow near ridgelines and moraines, and downwind of saddles and other terrain that funnel winds. Visual clues like blowing snow and wind-textured surfaces can help you identify wind loaded areas. While small test slopes and hand pits can help you gauge the reactivity in smaller terrain, they won’t paint the full picture for bigger alpine terrain that may hold thicker, hard wind slabs. These hard slabs can behave in surprising ways and often don’t provide much feedback before they fail. It will be a good day to ease into terrain slowly, make plenty of observations, and consider avoiding steep unsupported slopes that show signs of recent drifting. Shooting cracks or avalanches are key indicators of instability. 

    Triggering avalanches in wind-sheltered terrain may be possible if you find over 6 inches of new snow. Carefully assess the reactivity of the storm snow before riding unsupported terrain.

    (1/2/2025)

    Obvious signs of wind transport along this exposed ridge pointed toward potentially loaded slopes. 

    Photo: Dallas Glass

  • Loose Wet

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

    You may be able to trigger small wet loose avalanches near or just below the snow line or on sun-exposed terrain during periods of clearing in the afternoon.  Look for rollerballs, pinwheels, or sticky snow surfaces as clues indicating the upper snowpack is becoming wet and weak.  While most should be on the smaller side, they can still be consequential terrain with gullies, creeks, or other hazards in the runout.

    (12/24/2025)

    Natural roller balls falling off cliffs indicate a warming and weakening snowpack.

    Photo: Payton Schiff

Avalanche Discussion

This has been a pretty warm storm for the Mt. Hood zone, as snow levels have been hovering around 5500 ft. Because of this, not much snow accumulated below 6000 ft on Sunday. The Mt.Hood Meadows Pro Patrol reported better accumulations of 6-8” around 6600 ft and triggered small soft slabs in wind-exposed terrain during mitigation work. Due to poor visibility, observations have been sparse above 7000 ft, but we suspect significantly more snow fell at those elevations, as over 2 inches (and counting) of snow water equivalent have been reported at weather stations. 

Sunday was also notably calm, with little transport observed. However,  thats changing as winds have already started to increase into prime transport speeds and should stay in the moderate range through Monday morning. We’re not sure how much snow is available for transport at upper elevations, but we suspect it could be enough to create large slabs with increasing wind speeds. If you head into the alpine, be very observant and use visual clues to help you identify slopes of concern. 

Any accumulation is welcome this season, but keep in mind that many travel hazards still exist across the terrain. Rocks, creeks, trees, and other shallowly buried objects are still prominent through the terrain and could easily exacerbate the consequences of an avalanche. 

We could really use the observations as snow stacks up. Let us know what you see by submitting an observation here or on the AvyApp. 

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