Avalanche Forecast

A quick glance at the main NWAC forecast page map could tell you all you need to know about Thursday’s conditions. A warm, wet, and windy storm is ushering in big changes to the mountain snowpack. While the Olympics don’t seem to receive quite as much precipitation, the warm temperatures combined with any precipitation could be enough. The old adage, “big changes can mean big problems,” comes to mind. Stormy conditions could make identifying and avoiding avalanche hazards difficult Thursday. Active weather and a changing snowpack will combine to create dynamic conditions. Select travel plans where you can easily avoid any avalanche terrain. 

Expect rain to fall on a dry upper snowpack. At Hurricane ridge, there could be 10-18” of dry surface snow over the MLK interface before the rain starts. When we hear about rain on dry snow, we often think about wet snow avalanches. These can be difficult to predict and near impossible to assess by digging in the snow. Keep your eyes peeled for signs that the rain is making the snowpack unstable. New rollerballs and any avalanche activity should clue you in that conditions are changing. Avalanche activity could be slab or loose given the current snowpack structure and could be large and destructive.

New Regional Synopsis coming soon. We update the Regional Synopsis every Thursday at 6 pm.