Avalanche forecast

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Tue
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Out of date — this forecast expired 5 months ago.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

If you're traveling around and sinking into sticky, wet snow, consider steering around very steep terrain where you could trigger a small avalanche. Be considerate of your terrain selection, as being caught and carried in even a small wet snow avalanche could carry you into hazards downslope.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    Areas along the Cascade Crest will get a little bit of rain at all elevations Sunday night. This means peak instability will be overnight, but unstable wet snow will linger once the sun rises. Thanks to warm temperatures, snow further east in the zone will likely get warm and moist as well, though. Things to look out for are sticky or mushy snow surfaces, rollerballs falling from cliffs or your equipment, chunks of snow falling from trees and other terrain features, and even small point releases in very steep terrain. If you notice these signs of wet snow, consider steering around very steep slopes where a small avalanche could carry you into a terrain trap below. 

    (2/5/2026)

    Example of small wet loose slides originating in steep, rocky terrain. 

    Photo: Andy Harrington

Avalanche Discussion

Thankfully, the East South zone will be largely spared from the onslaught of rain impacting most of the forecast region. But there's plenty of new snow in the zone to be influenced by changing weather patterns. The Bumping Ridge and Green Lake weather stations nearly doubled their snowpack depths over the last week, with the former reporting 8.4" snow water equivalent (SWE) and the latter reporting 5.5" since March 8th. Generally speaking, 0.1" of SWE is equivalent to 1" of snow.

Persistent weak layers active in late February and early March are thought to be nearing the end of their lifespan. On the other hand, the last few days have delivered an exceptional load of new snow rain onto the existing snowpack. Avalanches releasing on buried weak layers were reported on Sunday in the West South and East Central zones. These avalanches released in wind loaded terrain only. It's something to keep on the brain when you head into the backcountry.

If you have good visibility today or tomorrow and spot any avalanches—large or small—let us know what you're seeing out there.

Regions covered