Avalanche forecast

Central Cascades

Central Oregon Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Wednesday will be a typical sunny spring day in the Central OR Cascades.  That means that as the day heats up the likelihood of Wet Loose avalanches will increase.  Plan your riding for late enough in the day for the snow to soften, but not so late that Wet Loose avalanches are likely.  It is also a good day to steer clear of Cornices as Cornice failure is also possible.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    Wet Loose avalanches will be possible throughout most of the terrain by afternoon, and they will be likely on sunny slopes.  Wet Loose avalanches can be one of the easier avalanche problems to deal with because they can be relatively predictable.  If the surface snow is getting very slushy, or if you are starting to observe natural Wet Loose avalanches from very steep terrain near rocks and cliffs, then it is time to avoid steep slopes or move to a different aspect.  Even small Wet Loose avalanches can be powerful and have bad consequences on steep or comitting slopes.  Similarly, I think folks can be surprised by how much snow is sometimes entrained by Wet Loose avalanches.

    Today Wet Loose avalanches were visible on North Sister above the Thayer Glacier.

  • Cornices

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

    Some Cornice Falls are possible on Wednesday because cornices will be weakened by heat from the sun and the warm temperatures.  Give cornices an extra margin of safety whether you are traveling along ridgelines, or on slopes beneath cornices.

Avalanche Discussion

The snow surface throughout the region is predominently a melt-freeze crust from the past few days that melts and softens each day.  Corn connoisseurs are often keeping track of how many melt-freeze cycles the snow has been through.  This likely varies throughout the range as peaks further north have stayed cloudy for the last few days, while terrain to the south and east has been sunnier.  This will also have some effect on the specific nature of the Wet Loose avalanche problem; more melt-freeze cycles seems to diminish the possibilty of larger Wet Loose avalanches.

Regions covered