Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Mt Hood.
Cooler weather with a few light showers should maintain some shallow wet snow or crust layers. Watch for unexpected wet snow deeper than boot top. The cooler weather should limit the avalanche potential Wednesday.
Detailed Forecast
Cooling with cloud cover and a chance of a few light rain showers is expected Wednesday. The cooling should allow for firm crusts and limited surface snow to melt, causing a lower probability of wet snow avalanches.
Only very light amounts of rain, if any are expected, and that should not cause a significant increase in wet surface snow.Â
Continue to watch for loose wet avalanche potential above terrain traps (like above cliffs or near gullies), where even small wet avalanches can become powerful and have unintended consequences.  .Â
Watch for recent cornices along ridges which may become sensitive to trigger.Â
Snowpack Discussion
Weather and Snowpack
A pair of fronts crossed the Northwest on Wednesday and Thursday. NWACÂ stations at Mt Hood for the 2 days ending Friday morning had 18-20 inches of snowfall.
Friday saw a warm system with strong winds bring rain up to near treeline (above 5000 feet) on Mt. Hood before cooling Friday night and depositing about 3 inches of new snow by early Saturday morning.Â
Temperatures over Mt Hood stations have been in mid 40's to upper 50's both Monday and Tuesday! The past two days have seen the warmest weather of the season. The very warm temperatures and solar radiation have caused wet snow conditions with crusts forming nights and mornings with the overall snowpack settlement of about 6-12 inches since Sunday morning.Â
Strom layers from late last week have likely settled and stabilized with the warm weather over the past few days.
Recent Observations
Limited natural, loose-wet avalanches have been reported Monday and Tuesday on Mt Hood. Moderate winds are limiting surface snow melt near and above treeline. More significant wet snow conditions have been seen below treeline, but limited avalanches. Â
Avalanche Problems
Loose Wet
Release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. They generally move slowly, but can contain enough mass to cause significant damage to trees, cars or buildings. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.
Travel when the snow surface is colder and stronger. Plan your trips to avoid crossing on or under very steep slopes in the afternoon. Move to colder, shadier slopes once the snow surface turns slushly. Avoid steep, sunlit slopes above terrain traps, cliffs areas and long sustained steep pitches.
Several loose wet avalanches, and lots of pinwheels and roller balls.
Loose wet avalanches occur where water is running through the snowpack, and release at or below the trigger point. Avoid terrain traps such as cliffs, gullies, or tree wells. Exit avalanche terrain when you see pinwheels, roller balls, a slushy surface, or during rain-on-snow events.
Aspects: South East, South, South West, West.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 1