Avalanche forecast

Stevens Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

Mon
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
Open full map
Out of date — this forecast expired 4 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Sun and even warmer temperatures will keep wet avalanches a concern through the weekend. Avoid travel on or directly under slopes where you see rolling balls of snow, recent wet avalanches, or where the snow is mushy and wet.  Look out for isolated pockets of wind-drifted snow on steep slopes near upper elevation ridges.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    More sun and even warmer temperatures will bring wet avalanches to most aspects and elevations. You may see more active avalanche conditions on non-southerly aspects, which are still transitioning through melting and freezing. You could still trigger avalanches on southerly aspects once surface crusts melt. As usual, larger avalanches are possible on long continuous slopes or in big alpine terrain. Be cautious about committing to terrain where your exit requires crossing steep, sun-exposed slopes or traveling beneath overhead hazards such as cornices.

    Above 6,000ft, you may still find isolated wind slabs at upper elevations. In most of the zone, these avalanches would be difficult to trigger. You may still be able to trigger them on the eastern boundary of the zone in the Chiwaukum Range, and near Rock, Howard, and Mastiff mountains.

    (4/16/2026)

    Rollerballs are often a precursor to natural wet loose avalanches. 

    Photo: Dallas Glass

Avalanche Discussion

The last avalanche forecast for the 25-26 season will be for Sunday, April 19th. Mountain weather forecasts will be published each afternoon through May 3rd. A huge thanks to everyone in our community for your support this winter!

Temperatures on Sunday could be another 5-10°F warmer, climbing to at least 55°F in the mountains. On Friday and Saturday, the sun and mild temperatures warmed recent snow enough for natural, wet avalanches on many sun-exposed slopes. On the 15th, a cold storm may have brought up to 20 inches of new snow to upper elevations.

On the 15th, an NWAC forecaster found that the new snow was well bonded to a crust (4/14) or to wet snow from the recent warm-up. Despite the ongoing storm and thick clouds, the new snow was already becoming moist on southerly slopes. The snow settled quickly, and slab avalanche activity appeared limited, with only isolated reports of small slabs on very steep terrain. A natural cycle of loose dry avalanches likely occurred during and just after the storm.

 

Regions covered