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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 24th, 2015–Jan 25th, 2015

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Olympics.

Above treeline, be aware of heightened avalanche danger in steeper terrain and near terrain traps relating to wet avalanches.    

Detailed Forecast

The avalanche danger will be listed as low below and near treeline in the Olympics zone due to lack of snow. 

Sunday should be quite warm (freezing levels 11-12 kft) and mostly sunny, although periods of high clouds may affect the Olympics. Despite the high freezing levels, a few factors should help tamp down the avalanche danger Sunday above treeline; rain will have tapered off Saturday allowing the snowpack to drain, weak solar input, and stiff winds in the alpine will all help limit the likelihood of wet avalanches.

Generally avoid steep slopes especially near terrain traps where you might be able to push off enough saturated snow to start an avalanche large enough to take you for a ride. 

Remember, due to the unseasonably low snowpack especially at lower elevations, numerous terrain hazards such as open creeks, partially or completely bare rocks and vegetation are widespread.  

Snowpack Discussion

Snow from last weekend's storm has all but been wiped away by rainfall and warm and windy weather Thursday through Saturday in the Hurricane Ridge area. 

Pro-observer Katy Reid up at Hurricane Ridge reported very low snow coverage with many snow-free areas on all aspects below treeline. There were no avalanche problems below treeline due to the abnormally low snowdepth. No observations were available from above treeline Saturday due to poor weather and visibility but there is a deeper snowpack in this elevation band especially on northerly aspects.  

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the 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. 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.