Avalanche forecast

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago.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

Highlights

Dangerous avalanche conditions are expected on Monday as temperatures rise and rain continues to fall. You may see wet avalanches of all types, so the best policy will be to simply avoid traveling on steep slopes and limit your time spent under avalanche terrain. 

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

     Increasing freezing levels and precipitation in the form of rain will set the stage for wet snow avalanches. Consider any steep slope as suspect, especially if you notice wet and sloppy conditions under your feet or sled. Rollerballs and pinwheels are excellent indicators telling you the surface is getting weaker. Some of these wet slides could even gouge deeper into the snowpack and grow large. So your best bet will be to simply avoid steep slopes and limit your time spent under steep terrain and large avalanche paths. 

    Give cornices a larger buffer than normal. These overhanging blocks of snow will lose strength and could release easily, or even naturally. 

    (4/9/2023)

    An example of wet loose avalanches. These could grow large on Monday. 

    Photo: Matt Primomo

Avalanche Discussion

Monday is shaping up to be a nasty one out there. Rain and warm temperatures will persist, which will continue to destabilize the snowpack. This rain event is likely accelerating the melt-out at lower elevations, so keep an eye out for thin travel near the trailheads. It may just be a good day to find alternatives to mountain travel. 

Leading up to the warm-up the snowpack across the east-south could be described as a ‘mixed bag’ of conditions. Observers in the White Pass area on Saturday observed variable travel and with about an inch of snow sitting on a melt-freeze crust at upper elevations. This small amount of snow was easily drifted into shallow, isolated slabs. Lower elevations have seen a lot in the past days from rain, warm temperatures, and wet loose avalanche cycles- which is resulting in a widespread crust at these elevations. However, with this warm up, expect this crust to break down. At the highest of elevations, you may still encounter a drier and more layered snowpack with wind slabs lurking on leeward slopes. Observers to the north in the East Central are still reporting reactive wind slabs on leeward features above 6500 ft. You may find similar conditions in the East South.

If you get out into the east south, let us know what you see by submitting an observation!

 

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