Avalanche forecast

Newberry

Central Oregon Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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

On Saturday, avalanche danger will increase throughout the day as more snow falls.  In most places and for most of the day, the new snow won't be deep enough to produce dangerous avalanche conditions.  By late afternoon, slopes that the wind has blown snow onto could produce small Wind Slab avalanches.  These conditions are most likely on North and East (lee) slopes at higher elevations, where the wind blows harder and can move the new snow.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Wind deposited snow (and thus Wind Slab avalanches) can be 3-5 times as deep as the snow that has fallen out of the sky.  With only a few inches on the ground by morning Wind Slab avalanches will be very shallow.  These Wind Slabs will grow throughout the day and by the end of the day could be large enough to knock a rider over and cause injury.  Watch out for terrain traps like cliffs, tight trees, and gullies that could make injury more likely if an avalanche were to occur.

    There are good ways to assess how deep and reactive wind blown snow may be.  Primarily, I look to see if slopes have been scoured by the wind, and then assume that snow has blown onto the adjacent lee slope.  You can investigate the depth of wind blown snow safely on slopes that are less than 30 degrees.  Tests like hand shears or ski cuts (on small test slopes) can give you hints about how cohesive or reactive the wind blown snow is.

    On Friday morning, the old snow surface was wet or crusty at nearly all elevations, so it should be easy to see how much new snow there is.

Avalanche Discussion

It was warm and wet in the monument on Friday morning.  It'll be nice to have a return to more wintry conditions, even if it's not the deep powder of last weekend.  Along with a change in the weather, we'll get a change in our avalanche characters.  On Friday, our Wet avalanche problems were rapidly dissipating as the temperature was dropping and snow was beginning to fall.  Our Wind Slab avalanche problem will start out pretty minimal, but could build throughout the weekend as more snow falls.

Regions covered