Avalanche forecast

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

 If you trigger an avalanche on Wednesday, it will likely be in a pocket of wind drifted snow at mid and upper elevations. Pay attention to blowing snow and wind direction to help you identify which slopes are loading up.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    A slight uptick in southeast should start drifting new snow into shallow soft slabs. Nothing good usually comes out of these upslope winds, so keep an eye out for these slabs to be forming in some weird spots such as west aspects or cross-loading terrain features. These newly formed slabs should be on the shallow side, however, still consider the consequence of a small slide in complex terrain or being pushed into a terrain trap like a gully bottom or a creek. 

    East and west winds have been at work drifting new snow this past week, so you may find these slabs all over the compass. As you move through the mountains look for blowing snow, fresh cornices, and pillow-like slabs at the snow surface to help you identify possible slopes of concern. Avoid steep wind drifted start zones if you notice signs of unstable snow such as shooting cracks or hear snow that sounds hollow like a drum.  

    (2/1/2023)

    Blowing snow can tell you a lot about which slopes are loading up. 

    Photo: Andy Harrington

Avalanche Discussion

The East South trickle continues with another 1-2 inches of new snow across snotel sites. This pattern should continue tomorrow. So look for light to even moderate snow showers and a couple more inches of low density snow. A slight uptick in wind speeds may start drifting new snow at ridgetop locations. 

Clouds and cool temperatures should generally limit any wet loose avalanche activity, but March is a thing now. So if the sun does make an appearance you may notice some moist snow forming on solar slopes. If this does occur, keep an eye out for rollerballs or pinwheels as these are precursors of wet loose avalanches. 

A generally strong snowpack exists throughout the East South, and the recent storms have been improving winter recreation opportunities significantly. However, the recent snow has piled up on various crusts. While we have not seen any avalanche activity on deeper, older snow layers, we are tracking these interfaces with the additional loading events.

Katie Warren traveled to the Ahtanum Meadows area on Tuesday. They found 7-12 inches of new snow and excellent riding conditions. Snowpack test yielded unremarkable results. However, there was some weak snow below the Valentine's Crust, now about 2 ft below the snow surface. You can check out the observation here for more details. Before the storm cycle on the 25th, Joe Dellaporta traveled into the American Ridge area near Bumping Lake and observed slick surfaces at lower elevations, dry faceting snow at upper elevations in the shade, and a thin sun crust on slopes with a southern tilt (observation).  

Regions covered