Avalanche forecast

Mt Hood

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Tue
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
No rating
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Out of date — this forecast expired 8 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Rain and wind will be battling it out for who creates more hazard on Monday. Consider the possibility of wet snow avalanches due to the rain, and dangerously slick, icy surfaces due to the wind. Pay attention to the terrain around you and be aware that significantly more snowfall may have accumulated in recent days above NWAC forecast elevations.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    Another round of rain puts wet snow avalanches back on the table. This includes wet loose, wet slab, and glide avalanches as well as cornice fall. The good news is that we have a couple of factors working to keep the likelihood lower. Those things are very firm surfaces that will need to break down first in order to weaken the snowpack, and strong to extreme winds that will aid in keeping said surfaces from weakening. 

    Nevertheless, it'll be worth your time to keep this problem on your radar. It often takes a few days for the snowpack to dry out after a wet storm cycle. With the unprecedented amount of rain our forecast region just saw, there is likely still water flowing through and under the snowpack. This lubricates bed surfaces and creates a risk for isolated chunks of snow to fall off unsupported perches.  A bit more water on top could reawaken wet snow instability. Pay attention to the terrain above you and don't cross slopes where glide cracks are visible. If you run into sloppy, wet snow where you're sinking down past your boot tops, consider avoiding steep slopes.

    (12/13/2025)

    A small fresh wet loose on a steep, SE aspect. There are ski tracks to the left of it, so its hard to say if its skier triggered or natural. 

    Photo: Joe Dellaporta

Avalanche Discussion

Well, there's more rain in the forecast, but compared to what we saw last week, it almost feels like chump change. By the end of the day on Monday, Mt. Hood should see close to another inch of rain soaring past NWAC elevation bands. Because the wind will be working to keep surfaces firm, it's a good idea to carry sharp, self-arresting equipment. Reports around the mountain and on Mt. Adams from the weekend relayed slide for life conditions, so despite the rain, the danger of long, uncontrolled sliding falls on firm, icy surfaces remains.

Starting between 6000 - 6200 ft, north and east aspects have continuous snow coverage in many areas. Southerly aspects fare a bit worse, with continuous coverage starting closer to 7000 ft. For this reason, hazard at middle elevations remains low. Just be cognizant of the terrain around you as you travel around; if you're on a continuous patch of snow at middle elevations, there exists some avalanche hazard.

Snowpack stability may diverge significantly above NWAC forecast elevations. We are gaining confidence that the highest elevations may have received significant snow and rainfall last week. A very large glide avalanche was reported on Sandy Glacier that occurred sometime during last week's atmospheric river events. Numerous other large wet loose and widely propagating slab avalanches were also reported around 9000 ft. We don't know whether any of this instability is lingering, so you will want to make your own assessments as you travel around. Consider your exposure to large, steep slopes if you venture onto the upper mountain. 

With the warm start to the 25-26 winter season, we have less snowpack information than usual to start daily forecast operations. For zones and elevation bands with less snow than needed for avalanche hazard, we will issue a forecast with No Rating. Anticipated avalanche and weather conditions will still be updated daily. NWAC will issue an avalanche danger rating for a zone when enough snow to produce avalanches has accumulated at middle and upper elevations.

Regions covered