Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Olympics.
Fresh and recent wind slabs will be the main problem Sunday, especially if the snowfall accumulations and strong winds arrive early. Keep terrain selection simple and conservative. Cornices have recently proven dangerous and unpredictable and capable of triggering very large avalanches.
Detailed Forecast
Partial clearing Saturday night along with cool temperatures, should allow any moist to wet snow to re-freeze and form a thin crust layer, especially near and below treeline on all but steep northerly facing terrain.Â
The next frontal precipitation is expected to arrive late Sunday morning and gradually increase along with ridgetop winds through the afternoon. Shallow new wind slabs may become locally sensitive in areas that receive rapid accumulations Sunday afternoon. Â
Recent winds have been mostly S-SE, so firmer wind slab should be found mainly on W-N-SE slopes near and above treeline. Expected increasing winds Sunday should be similar, mostly southerly.
Recent cornices are very large. Make sure to avoid areas on ridges where there may be an overhanging cornice as well as travel on steep slopes below cornices! Natural cornice releases and resulting slab avalanches are unpredictable. See a blog post regarding cornices here.
Snowpack Discussion
Weather and SnowpackÂ
The first week of March saw a very active winter weather pattern with deep snow accumulations, followed by periods of heavy rain in the second week of March. This caused significant avalanche cycles in most areas March 9-10. Significant snowpack consolidation occurred over this period due to rainfall and warmer temperatures.Â
Another strong low pressure system brought several inches of rain to the west slopes of the Olympics and Cascades on Friday, 3/17 through early Saturday morning 3/18. Rapid cooling later Saturday morning was followed by generally light snow showers with little in the way of new snow accumulation. The rain event 3/18-19 has formed a very strong crust layer, now buried by this past weeks storm snow, generally 15-20 inches in the Hurricane Ridge area.
During this past week, weaker fronts crossed the Northwest on Tuesday and Wednesday at moderate snow levels. Sustained moderate winds out of the S-SEÂ on Thursday and Friday continuously transported shallow and recent fresh snowfall in the Hurricane Ridge area. Snow showers Saturday deposited several more inches of new snow as of Saturday afternoon. Â
Recent Observations
NWAC pro-observer, Matt Schonwald was in the Hurricane Ridge area Thursday afternoon. Moderate S-SE winds were quickly building fresh 10-12" wind slab on lee aspects and scouring windward aspects to the most recent rain crust. Wind slabs near treeline were becoming increasingly sensitive by the end of the day. New cornice formation was occurring along ridgelines.Â
Matt was back in the Hurricane Ridge area on Friday. Hurricane Ridge continues to live up to its name because the wind was again the main story with fresh wind slab becoming deeper and more sensitive on lee slopes which included some westerly slopes near treeline. Fresh and large cornices were also building and deemed likely to fail. All wind loaded avalanche terrain was avoided. Generally shallow, loose wet avalanches occurred below treeline on solar aspects until the cloud cover increased late morning. Â
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.
Wind Slabs form in specific areas, and are confined to lee and cross-loaded terrain features. They can be avoided by sticking to sheltered or wind-scoured areas..
Wind Slab avalanche. Winds blew from left to right. The area above the ridge has been scoured, and the snow drifted into a wind slab on the slope below.
Wind slabs can take up to a week to stabilize. They are confined to lee and cross-loaded terrain features and can be avoided by sticking to sheltered or wind scoured areas.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, West, North West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 1
Cornices
Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind lips of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.
Cornices can never be trusted and avoiding them is necessary for safe backcountry travel. Stay well back from ridgeline areas with cornices. They often overhang the ridge edge can be triggered remotely. Avoid areas underneath cornices. Even small Cornice Fall can trigger a larger avalanche and large Cornice Fall can easily crush a human. Periods of significant temperature warm-up are times to be particularly aware.
A corniced ridgeline. A large cornice has formed at the top of the ridge. A smaller cornice has formed to the left of the trees from crossloading.
Cornices are easy to identify and are confined to lee and cross-loaded ridges, sub-ridges, and sharp convexities. They are easiest to trigger during periods of rapid growth (new snow and wind), rapid warming, and during rain-on-snow events. Cornices often catch people by surprise when they break farther back onto flatter areas than expected.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, West, North West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2