Avalanche forecast

Selkirk Mountains

Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

Sat
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
Open full map
Out of date — this forecast expired last year. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Numerous large wet avalanches have been observed in recent days. Rain and melt water, that have lubricated distinct layering in the snowpack creating, sustain the wet slab avalanche problem today on all aspects at upper and mid elevations. Wet slab avalanches are notoriously tricky to predict and very dangerous, so don’t try to outsmart these. Today it is best to avoid traveling on or under open slopes over 30 degrees and be mindful of your proximity to terrain traps, like gullies or benches, where cement like avalanched snow is likely to pile up.

Avalanche problems

  • Wet Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    2–3

    Today we move into day 5 of above freezing temperatures, following generous amounts of rain. Sunshine from the past several days added to the amount of free water that percolated into the snowpack. Various layers form last week’s storm that delivered several feet of new snow, are now buried 1 to 3 feet deep in the snowpack. Rain and meltwater has lubricated and saturated these interfaces, along with previously existing weak layers. Due to the depth of these interfaces, an avalanche that fails on these layers would result in a large to very large and dangerous slab avalanche.

     A natural or human triggered wet loose avalanche has the potential to step down and trigger a larger wet slab avalanche. This scenario will be most likely found near tree line, where these two wet snow problems are most likely to intersect due to the amount of free water already running through the snowpack.

    Large wet slab avalanche observed from Jeru in hte Selkirks. Note the small loose wet avalanche in the foreground. (3/26/2025) Photo: Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center

Avalanche Discussion

Even though today is cooler than yesterday, most of our region has remained above freezing for five consecutive days. Today’s cloud cover and the dip in temperature will help stabilize some of the surface instabilities but is not enough to lock up the snowpack or significantly change the danger of large to very large wet slab avalanches.

 In recent days we have observed numerous wet slab avalanches that broke on distinct layers within the upper snowpack, including crusts from 3/9 and 3/19 buried 1 to 3 feet from surface. The Sunday/Monday rain event, that favored the northern zones, and melt water from the unseasonably high midweek temperatures, that favored the southern zone, have introduced abundant liquid water to the snowpack that has lubricated weak layer interfaces. Although the peak of the natural avalanche instability has likely passed, a skier or rider could very well initiate a deadly large to very large avalanche in steep terrain today. Wet loose avalanches will be a less likely problem today, but if you happen to see snow entraining it’s a good sign that you should step back into less exposed terrain.

As cooler temperatures return to our region and overnight lows are forecast to dip below freezing in the coming days the upper snowpack will strengthen and cap instabilities buried deeper within. However, in the meantime, it’s best to be patient and wait for more stable and predictable spring conditions to arrive before you set out for your steeper and more complex spring objectives.

 **Recent observations of opening glide cracks, some failing naturally producing large to very large glide avalanches, have been reported. Avoid traveling on or below slopes where a glide crack has opened. These types of avalanches are difficult to forecast when they will release.**

Regions covered