Avalanche forecast

West Slopes Central

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Fri
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Out of date — this forecast expired 5 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

A warm, wet front is pushing through, and wet snow avalanches are your main concern for Thursday. If you encounter wet, unsupportable snow avoid nearby steep slopes. Variable travel conditions will present another major challenge to your day.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–1.5

    You could find a myriad of wet snow problems on Thursday. Your largest concern is small wet loose avalanches. If you find yourself sinking deep into the snowpack, stay away from steep nearby areas. Also keep an eye out for glide cracks on steep slopes, as there is a higher chance they could avalanche on this warm, wet day. Additionally, cornices could fail in this weather, so consider avoiding slopes beneath them.

    (1/16/2021) Wet Loose avalanches running from the cliffs behind Lake 22 on the Mountain Loop Highway. Photo: Irene Henninger

Avalanche Discussion

Dropping snowlines throughout the day mean that you could encounter dry snow avalanche problems in the afternoon. Strong winds will accompany the cooling temperatures. Developing wind slabs may react to a human trigger. You will most likely find this problem in the uppermost elevations of the forecast zone. 

Our snowpack was affected extensively by generally warm temperatures for several days now. The uppermost layers of the snowpack, if not all of it at lower elevations, have transformed into melt forms. Crusts froze, they’ve also broken down with warm temperatures. A lot of these characteristics were very aspect-dependent, with less supportable, wetter snow on southerly aspects, while northerly slopes remained cooler and more firm. Thickly treed areas sustained large, wet tree bombs and variable rain amounts, making for extremely irregular terrain. Many open slopes are now coated with runnels, deep grooves in the crusty snow indicating a large rain or melting event. Lower elevations, especially tomorrow, will be very unsupportable. Take all of these factors into account as you plan your day out on Thursday.

Regions covered