Avalanche forecast

Presidential Range

Mount Washington Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

Sat
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
Open full map
Out of date — this forecast expired 5 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Middle and upper elevation terrain is where you are likely to trigger avalanches today. Fresh drifts will be sensitive to your weight and may avalanche naturally on steep slopes. Avoid traveling on or under steep slopes loaded with recent snow.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Today's snow and wind will build drifted slabs that are likely to be sensitive to your weight. Expect to find slabs in exposed, middle and upper elevation terrain on most aspects due to a wind shifting from south to northwest. 

    The red flags of new snow and wind, coupled with how snow is behaving under your feet, will be more useful than stability tests in assessing this avalanche problem. Shooting cracks are an obvious sign you’ve found this avalanche problem.

     

  • Storm Slabs

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

    In wind protected locations, you can trigger avalanches that break in the new snow or on the existing icy, hard bed surface. These will grow in size as new and drifted snow accumulates throughout the day. If you find more than 8 inches of soft snow you’ve found a storm slab with the potential to slide and bury you. Avoid deep, wind protected pockets of soft snow, especially above terrain traps.

Avalanche Discussion

New wind slabs will be found on many aspects today in our middle and upper elevation terrain. 

Lower elevations will have more of a small storm slab problem, with less snow and less wind. Don’t rule out the possibility of avalanche paths in lower elevations failing within the older faceted snow below the surface.  

Wind speeds last night and today are low by Mount Washington standards but still ideal for transporting snow and building reactive wind slabs. Expect a less cohesive and a more subtle “slab” than our usual firmer wind slabs. The sensitivity is likely to create conditions where not only are they easier to trigger, the crack in the slab may propagate further creating a larger avalanche. This is especially true in locations where the bed surface below is large and developed. 

The shifting wind from south to northwest should be on your radar if traveling in any of the eastern ravines today. After the wind shifts, any new and remaining snow will be transported and build thick wind slabs in east facing terrain. As denser wind slabs build on a bed of softer wind protected storm snow, a strong-over-weak structure will result. As the slabs build, the weak snow below will be stressed and may fail from the weight of the new snow alone, or from the weight of a human.

Regions covered