Avalanche forecast

Stevens Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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

Cooling temperatures are reducing the chances of wet avalanches, but not entirely. You can still trigger avalanches on steep slopes where the snow surface is moist and slides easily. Use caution on and under steep slopes and avoid stopping under cornices and rock features with looming chunks of snow. 

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    Use caution on steep slopes that hold moist to wet snow. You could trigger avalanches in surface layers of moist snow. While large, wet avalanches are less likely, it's still a good idea to stay out from under steep overhead terrain. Cornice falls and glide avalanches could have serious consequences. 

    Sunday's wet avalanches will mostly be shallow and small, involving the 2-3 inches of recent snow as it warms up. This snow could slide easily on a crust, just under the surface. This crust is adding strength to the older snow that got saturated by rain on March 23-24th. Keep monitoring the crust. If it softens as the day warms or you find areas of entirely wet, unsupportive snow, you should expect larger and more dangerous wet avalanches. 

    (3/25/2025)

    A deep crown, over 1000ft wide, of a very large (D3) wet slab avalanche.

    Mt Mastiff, WNW, 6,500ft

    Photo: Josh Hirshberg

Avalanche Discussion

On Sunday, the wind, air temperatures, and sun will all be factors that determine whether snow surfaces get warm and moist or stay cool. The wind and temperatures will likely keep snow surfaces cool at upper elevations. Expect some clearing that could warm many slopes at middle to lower elevations.

On Saturday, observers reported surface crusts were variable in thickness but supportive to skis. They also found shallow recent snow accumulation, up to 3." On the 28th, an NWAC forecaster found that the upper snowpack had well-transitioned wet grains with moist snow as deep as two feet below the surface. That night, Stevens Pass Patrol reported that a rock face shed a large glide slab resulting in a long-running debris. This occurred on Cowboy Mountain, NE, 5,400ft. On the 28th, 2-3 inches of snow accumulated at middle elevations with wet snow and rain falling below 5,000 feet. On the 29th, another 1-2 inches of snow and light rain fell. In recent nights, the snow surface saw its first weak freeze since the rain event of March 23rd. We expect overnight freezes to continue building this crust, but it may take several days before it's solidly frozen. 

The Stevens Pass zone received over 4" of liquid water at 5000ft from March 23-25th. This initiated widespread avalanches, including many large to very large wet slab avalanches. On the 25th, an NWAC forecaster reported the widespread avalanche activity that occurred a day or so prior in the Highway 2 corridor. Very large (up to D3) wet slab avalanches with widely propagating and deep crowns occurred at upper elevations. At lower elevations, wet loose avalanches (Size D1-2) ran on most steep slopes.

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