Avalanche forecast

East Slopes Central

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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

A few inches of recent snow and strong winds have built a shallow batch of wind-drifted slabs in exposed terrain. Look for these slabs to become more prominent as you gain elevation or approach the Cascade Crest. Cooler temperatures are decreasing the chance of triggering large wet avalanches but not eliminating this hazard completely. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Recent light accumulation (2-6 inches depending on location) has built a batch of shallow wind slabs in higher terrain. Slabs have formed over a variety of wet snow surfaces or crusts, so reactivity may vary from slope to slope. In general, expect these slabs to be larger and more widespread as you climb into alpine terrain or areas closer to the Cascade Crest.

    Wind slabs often form on the downwind sides of ridges, below cornices, and underneath rock bands or on the aprons below gully features. Small test slopes and quick snowpack tests can provide valuable data points about the reactivity of these slabs. Scoot around steep wind-loaded features that appear freshly loaded, especially if you notice cracks shooting out from under your feet or machine. 

    (1/6/2025)

    Look for cracking as clues of unstable snow. 

    Photo: Joe Dellaporta

  • Wet Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    2

    There is no doubt that we’re trending downwards with this wet avalanche problem, but large activity earlier this week, and a slow drop in freezing levels should have you approaching steep terrain with suspicion and caution.  At this point, this problem will likely be most concerning at lower and middle elevations, which experience a lighter refreeze. Regardless of elevation, pay attention to surface penetration and the extent of the refreeze process as you move around the mountains. If you find yourself in unsupportable, wet snow, keep it dialed back and don’t linger under larger terrain. In areas where you find a thick, supportable melt-freeze crust, triggering larger wet avalanches will be less likely. The best way to deal with this tricky problem is to increase your buffer around steep terrain that remains wet and punchy.

    There are plenty of sloppy, wet snow surfaces that could easily push into wet loose avalanches. Use caution on steep features where wet loose could get moving, especially if they could drain into a terrain trap.  

    (3/25/2025)

    A very large natural slab avalanche (at least D3) on Big Slide peak in Icicle Ck. This likely occurred March 23-24th. 7,500ft, SE.

    Photo: Josh Hirshberg

Avalanche Discussion

The Thursday night system was pretty underwhelming with most areas picking up 1-3” over the recent crust or wet grains. Despite the cool-down, we’re still concerned about the lingering threat of wet slabs across the eastern zones. We’re coming out of a warm and active period that brought many large to very large natural wet avalanches. While temperatures are cooler, they're still mild enough (4-5000 ft freezing levels) for meltwater to percolate in the snowpack, especially at middle and lower elevations. It's a tricky problem to predict and manage, so the best strategy to deal with this uncertainty is to approach terrain with extra caution until we know the refreeze is significant enough to eliminate this concern.

If you get out into the mountains, let us know what you see by submitting a public observation here. 

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