Avalanche forecast

East Slopes Central

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Wed
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Although you are not likely to trigger a large avalanche deep enough to bury you, we are in the midst of an unusual snowpack and weather setup. As you punch your way through wet, heavy snow, think about the consequences of triggering a wet snow avalanche. Steer around very steep slopes where you could be carried into cliffs, rocks, and trees below.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    The snowpack is wet and getting wetter as rain continues to fall in small amounts primarily on the western edge of the zone. Even the snowpack in areas to the east is moist thanks to very warm temperatures. Once the snowpack is wetted, it can be hard to predict how much additional liquid water it takes to make a slope come unglued. This is also a rather unusual setup with an exceptionally large amount of snow falling in the forecast region last week. Given those factors, Tuesday may not be the day to jump right into steep terrain without a healthy dose of caution. An avalanche of wet, heavy snow will be hard to escape and can carry you into terrain traps below. Don't linger under sagging cornices or other terrain features where snow could suddenly fall from above.

    (3/14/2026)

    D1 wet loose on a sun-affected aspect near Hurricane Ridge.

    Photo: ONP Rangers

Avalanche Discussion

Approximately 0.3-0.6 inches of rain fell along the Cascade Crest in East Central, mostly over Sunday night into the early morning hours on Monday. Areas to the east were spared from the rain, but Mission Ridge Pro Patrol reported the snowpack still getting wet down to the 02/07 buried weak layers thanks to warm temperatures. Tuesday will see less rain, but the bulk of it will come during the daylight hours. It will again, really only hit areas immediately adjacent to the Cascade Crest. The zone will also experience strong to extreme wind, but we don't suspect there's much dry snow left in the zone to be transported.

There was an active wet loose avalanche cycle just over the border of East Central at Stampede Pass on Monday. Numerous avalanches were also reported throughout the rest of the forecast region. One can deduce that similar activity was happening in East Central, especially in areas such as the Salmon La Sac that received a lot of recent snow.

We have continued to track the 02/07 weak faceted snow around a crust, as well as buried surface hoar that was buried mid-February. Prior to this significant storm, we hadn't seen any avalanches on these layers since March 2nd, and all of those avalanches were only in wind loaded terrain. These layers are now buried 4-5 ft deep in the Salmon La Sac, and at a similar depth in wind loaded terrain in the Wenatchees. No clear reports came in during or immediately after the storm of them being overloaded, although observations were minimal. A public observer traveling in the Salmon La Sac on Friday reported no snowpack test results on these layers. An NWAC Forecaster traveling in the same area on Saturday viewed a large natural avalanche across the drainage that may or may not have failed on buried weak layers.

Then, on Sunday, March 15th, Mission Ridge Pro Patrol used large explosives to trigger very large avalanches that failed on the weak snow above the 2/7 crust. On Monday, Mission Patrol reported that the snowpack is getting wet down to the crust. This is a nerve-racking indication that it may take less than a large explosive to trigger a large and deadly avalanche. While it currently remains unlikely, you should have this on your radar as the week continues. 

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