Avalanche forecast

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Tue
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Another day with unseasonably mild, sunny weather at mid and high elevations means another chance for small wet loose avalanches on steep sunny slopes.  These avalanches can be easily avoided by paying attention to how the snow surface changes during the day.  Be aware of early season hazards and challenging travel at lower elevations with low snow.  

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    You'll find a different world once you climb above the cold air and low clouds hugging the valleys and get into the sunshine on Monday.  High freezing levels and above freezing temperatures will continue Sunday night and Monday at mid and high elevations,  once again softening surface crusts that formed overnight.  You're more likely to find lingering soft snow on shadier and more wind sheltered aspects.  

    Avoid similar slopes if you see small wet loose avalanches and rollerballs on very steep southerly slopes and below rocky outcrops.  Switch to lower-angle terrain or change aspects if you find yourself sinking into wet, heavy snow more than a few inches.  Since most of these avalanches will be small, exercise the most caution around terrain traps, like above cliff bands and open creeks.  We're still dealing with an early season snowpack and there are still plenty of obstacles (like exposed or barely covered rocks, stumps, etc) that could magnify the consequences of a small slide.  Continue to think about small wet loose avalanches wherever you find enough snow to slide on at lower elevations. 

    (11/29/2024)

    Small rollerballs releasing from steep rocky terrain.  These may be harbingers of wet loose activity.

    Photo: Dallas Glass

Avalanche Discussion

On Sunday,  weather stations above 4500' (and above the inversion) reached into the 40s to almost 50F under sunny skies.  Low stratus hugged the lower slopes and valleys with temperatures much closer or below freezing. 

It's still early season, and we don’t have a lot of information about the snowpack across the zone. A few excellent observations from the East South emphasize the generally thin and variable early-season snow depths. The last major storm hit the Bumping Lake and Nelson Range areas pretty hard. In these locations, you might find more snow than in the Tieton and Ahtanum Meadows regions. If nearby zones are any clue, the surface snow remains soft and loose on shaded slopes, with thin breakable crusts forming nightly on sun-affected slopes.

Regardless of elevation, numerous obstacles still exist. Rocks, logs, bushes, and creeks all make travel a bit more challenging. Give yourself some extra time to navigate all these potential hazards. This shallow coverage is likely to limit avalanche hazard at lower elevations, but remember that if there's enough snow to ride, there's enough snow to slide.

Regions covered