Avalanche forecast

Olympics

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

A warm sunny spring day will probably result in small wet avalanches. While natural slides will generally stay confined to steep rocky terrain, you may trigger these avalanches on any steep slope with wet sticky snow.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    A thin crust in the morning will help limit any wet avalanche concerns, but once it breaks down, there’ll be plenty of wet snow available to slide. Sunshine and warm temperatures will help heat areas around rocks and cliffs. This could result in small natural avalanches falling on the slopes below. On other sunny slopes, it will likely need a trigger to get the snow moving. 

    In some areas of the zone, there isn’t much snow on steep southerly slopes. This will help keep the size of many of these avalanches much smaller. Don’t let one of these slides push you into a creek or over a cliff. If you start to see wet avalanches gouging deeper into the snow, growing larger, and running far downhill, the scales have tipped, and this problem has turned into a much more dangerous beast. Steer clear of similar terrain.

    (3/7/2024)

    Example: You may see natural wet avalanches near features like this. 

    Photo: Kaitlin Harrigan

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1

    You’re most likely to find a lingering wind slab at higher elevation terrain and on shaded aspects. These wind-loaded pockets are a few days old but could fail if you hit the wrong spot. Sharp cornices, textured surfaces, and pointy drifts highlight local wind patterns and point toward wind-affected slopes. Be leery of pillow-like slabs along exposed ridges and in the tops of chutes, especially in high-consequence terrain. 

    (12/23/2023)Example: drifts and small cornices indicate wind loaded slopes below.  Photo: Sam Luthy

Avalanche Discussion

After a mild and snowy week, the weather will flip back to full spring on Saturday. Plenty of sunshine, warm temperatures, and generally light winds will help it feel hot. This is the beginning of a longer, warm, and sunny period. Different parts of the zone could see peak avalanche danger at different times. It will likely depend on how much snow the area received this past week and how much sun it experienced on Friday. In all cases, travel in the morning when a frozen surface helps minimize the hazard. Conditions will be the most dangerous in the afternoon. 

With this warm-up, we’re mainly worried about the snow above the 3/21 crust. This varies widely across the range and by aspect. A significant SW wind event last week stripped many windward slopes. Otherwise, the new snow is deepest in the southern and western portions of the Olympics, where you could find 12-18 inches over the crust. Closer to Hurricane Ridge, you may only see 6-8 inches in non-wind-loaded areas.

Regions covered