Avalanche forecast

Mt Hood

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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Out of date — this forecast expired 5 months ago.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

Highlights

Steep slopes near and below treeline are the most likely places you'll find wet, mushy snow.  If you sink past your boot tops, you could trigger a wet avalanche in steep terrain.  Use caution near terrain traps and be aware of overhead hazards to lower your exposure during this extended warm stretch.  

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    Competing weather factors, such as an uncertain cloud forecast and strong winds, will make it tougher than usual to pin down the likelihood of a wet loose avalanche.  Periods of clear skies may allow a new surface crust to form overnight.  

    What we can say is that a mild night will lead into another mild day with mid-mountain temperatures once again expected to push 50F degrees on Tuesday.  Mid and lower elevations slopes that see sunshine will be the first to soften, although you may find wet snow on shady aspects as well.  You'll find firmer, wind-textured snow on lee aspects on the upper mountain generally above treeline, interspersed between patches of wind-stripped surfaces, including ice and rock.

    If you find yourself sinking into wet, manky snow, up to your ankles, it's time to move off of steep slopes and/or to a different aspect.   Natural wet loose avalanches may shed below cliff bands, or if triggered by cornice fall.  If you see signs of wet snow falling, you know the instability is increasing.   While most loose wet avalanches will be small, they can cause trouble around terrain traps, like gullies or cliff bands.  Finally, if things really get manky and you're stepping into your knees in wet snow; the tables are set for a slide to start small and grow large and powerful by entraining wet snow underneath.  

    We've removed wind slab from the problem list but if you're heading to the mountain's highest reaches, you may encounter drier snow and wind slabs. 

    (3/16/2026)

    Tiny chunks of cornice were able to trigger rollerballs on an E aspect at 6400' by mid-day Monday.   Signs like this on Tuesday point to favorable conditions for wet loose avalanches on similar slopes. 

    Photo: Ryan Matz

Avalanche Discussion

We've made the transition from a stormy, cool-ish regime to a warm one.  Light drizzle/mist on Sunday was followed on Monday by mild temperatures with afternoon highs in the 40s and even 50s, a mix of sun and clouds, and strong west winds.  Southerly aspects softened into the upper elevation band.  At treeline, where the wind was less of a factor, you could sink in up to your boot top in wet, gloppy snow.  Small chunks of falling cornice would kick off rollerballs or small, wet, loose avalanches on the slopes below.  

Conditions have certainly quieted down compared to just a few days ago.  A massive storm cycle ended with a flourish in the early morning hours on Saturday, March 14th.  A USGS seismologist recorded a 10-minute duration natural slab avalanche that ran from 9,000-10,000 ft down to and along the Heather/Clark canyon flats for half a mile. The debris piled over another D4 avalanche that occurred during the early morning hours on Thursday, March 12th.  Mt Hood Meadows Pro Patrol and observers documented the multiple crowns on the Wy'east Face and a smaller crown on the upper Newton-Clark Glacier. Mt Hood Meadows Patrol also noted a very large avalanche originating from Superbowl that was likely explosive-triggered, but was not picked up by seismic recordings.

Mt Hood Meadows has received 11" of water equivalent since 3/8, corresponding to more than 10 ft of snow at the highest NWAC forecast elevations and above. Precipitation tapered off in the early morning hours of 3/14, but extreme WSW winds ramped up right as the precipitation eased, resulting in a very intense loading event for these upper elevation start zones.  The final 24 hours of the storm was mostly warm up to 6500 ft, but ended with 1-4" of snow at lower and middle elevations. Over the course of the weekend, the 3/14 interface turned into a thick crust at middle elevations, but still has up to 8" of moist snow under the crust. At lower elevations, the saturated snow surface refroze Saturday night then thawed during the day Sunday, resulting in decent riding conditions. Below the surface crust, you are likely to find 2 ft of saturated snow above the next crust. Fortunately, we are not expecting the kind of rainfall that would renew the potential for wet slabs.

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