Avalanche Forecast

Scattered light snow showers in the morning should become light snow by Thursday afternoon. Snow levels will slightly rise through the daylight hours and further overnight as precipitation and winds increase. 

Stubborn wind slabs may still be triggered in specific areas Thursday near and above treeline. Recent wind slabs may be obscured by more recent lower density snow. Ridgetop winds may be strong enough to form new and shallow wind slabs Thursday. Use caution near steep wind loaded open slopes and watch for signs of active wind transport. Cornices are large and should be given a wide berth as they often break back further than you expect. 

Loose dry avalanches are possible in steep terrain, but will not be listed as an avalanche problem. 

Denser storm snow will not pile up fast enough to form fresh storm slabs Thursday. 

Light snow showers, much cooler temperatures and decreasing ridgetop winds were seen Tuesday through Wednesday. Winds were still strong enough Tuesday to transport recent low density snowfall near and above treeline. 

A warm and moist system Sunday through Monday night brought higher density snowfall to mid-to-upper elevation sites on the east slopes of the Cascades with a warming trend. Ultimately, rain stayed out of the NE Cascades including the Washington Pass area, but made it as far north as Holden up to approximately 6000 feet. Cornices have grown large during the stormy periods. There was an avalanche cycle in many areas in the central-east and northeast Cascades Monday and Monday night. 

Prior to the 1/28-1/30 storm cycle, scattered observations from around the east slopes central and north zones found buried surface hoar above the 1/16 crust reactive in snowpack tests or in a few cases the weak layer related to significant avalanche activity. Extra caution should be taken when traveling in areas further east of the crest where this layer survives or in elevations where less snow has been received. Snow profiles and snowpack tests are the only means to identify and locate this layer. 

Observations

North

NWAC pro-observer Jeff Ward was in the Hairpin area of Washington Pass on Wednesday.  He found right side up new (4") to the much deeper recent storm snow. No evidence of new avalanche activity was observed in the surrounding terrain. Winds were light. 

On Tuesday, NCMG was in the Cuttthroat drainage of Washington Pass and observed the recent avalanche cycle (from Monday or Monday night) of cornice-fall triggered slab avalanches up to size D2.5. The recent storm snow was well-bonded to the older snow. Wind slabs near and above treeline were isolated and stubborn. Storm slab was a non-issue in the terrain traveled. They found the 1/16 crust down 5 ft (150 cm) and a deep total snow depth of 11+ ft (340 cm).

Central

A professional in the Holden area Tuesday observed evidence of a widespread loose wet cycle from 1/29 primarily in start zones below 6000'. The largest slides were up to size D2.5. It is estimated that rain reached up to 6000 feet in this area.  There was 6" on top of the 1/30 crust. 

On Tuesday, Mission Ridge Pro Patrol reported shallow but reactive wind slabs on northerly aspects at 6400 ft. Other layers of concern were identified deeper in this regionally shallower snowpack that will need to be watched during future loading events, similar to basal weak layers previously found in the nearby shallow snowpack of Blewett Pass. 

South

No recent observations