Avalanche forecast

West Slopes Central

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sat
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

We're entering a stormy period in the West Central zone. Anywhere you encounter 6 inches of new snow or wind-loaded features, start thinking about slab avalanches. Red flag signs of instability, such as whumpfing collapses, shooting cracks, or recent avalanches, indicate that the snowpack may be reaching a breaking point.

Avalanche problems

  • Storm Slabs

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

    Continued snowfall into Friday should maintain concerns for small storm slabs at mid and upper elevations. The higher you ascend, the larger they should be. Use small test slopes and uptrack tests to determine how the new snow is reacting to your weight. Take a moment to dig down to the topmost crust to look for potential failure points. If you find heavy snow over weaker snow, see shooting cracks, or blocks of snow failing in your tests, default to lower-angled terrain.

    Winds should be more robust on Friday than on Thursday, meaning there could be more wind slabs. Look for them on the leeward side of ridgelines or near rocky features such as confined chutes or the base of cliffs.

    (1/4/2024)

    A small, natural avalanche from Thursday in the neighboring West North zone. Note the convex feature this slide failed on.

    Photo: Daniel Cope

Avalanche Discussion

Another day, another couple of inches of snow. That's been the story for the last few days and will continue on Friday. None of these waves of precipitation have been big producers, but we're getting close to a foot this week when you add it all up. A change on Friday will be the increase in wind speeds and slightly dropping temperatures. Some models are calling for a brief bump in temperatures again - so be on the lookout for rollerballs and small wet avalanches if you experience rain falling on dry snow.

No new information about conditions in the West Central zone was reported on Thursday. The neighboring Snoqualmie and Stevens Pass zones experienced a temperature bump resulting in small natural avalanches. Some of these were wet loose, while a few were slabs. Most avalanches were sliding on the 12/30 crust. To our north, backcountry travelers reported widespread whumpfs and small natural avalanches in the Mt. Baker area.

As we roll into the weekend and storm totals increase, you should look at all the snow above the 12/30 interface for potential weak points. In isolated locations, slabs could break in surprising ways on weak snow just above the 12/30 crust. You could even see a few deeper releases or step-downs to older layers in the snowpack, such as the Solstice Crust.

Look out for those open creeks, small bushes, rocks, and holes. They’re still out there, especially at lower elevations where they can impede travel. 

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