Avalanche forecast

East Slopes Central

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Another day of warm temperatures will sustain dangerous wet snow avalanche conditions. Triggering a wet slide on a steep slope will be easy, and very large avalanches running naturally from upper elevations are possible. Stick to conservative terrain and avoid lingering in gullies or below large open slopes. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wet Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1.5–2.5

    The ongoing wet avalanche cycle may be decreasing in frequency, but the destructive and unpredictable nature of these avalanches still requires conservative decision-making. Avoid steep slopes with heavy, saturated snow where you could trigger a wet loose avalanche. Wet slabs may run naturally, so make sure you are aware of all overhead terrain. Travel quickly through runouts and gullies where large avalanches can funnel and run long distances into lower elevations. Cornice failure and glide avalanches involving the entire season's snowpack are still a concern as well. Give overhung cornices and deep, open glide cracks a wide berth. 

    On Tuesday, an NWAC forecaster in the Icicle Creek area reported very large crowns from wet slab avalanches at upper elevations and widespread wet loose avalanches. 

    (3/25/2025)

    A very large natural slab avalanche (at least D3) on Big Slide peak in Icicle Ck. This likely occurred March 23-24th. 7,500ft, SE.

    Photo: Josh Hirshberg

Avalanche Discussion

Another warm, sunny day is forecasted for Wednesday, with a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon and overnight into Thursday. So if you plan to be out late in the day or overnight, prepare accordingly and get off ridglines and exposed terrain if tall, dark clouds begin building. Thunderstorms can come with heavy precipitation that could quickly increase the avalanche danger.

Observers in the Holden area reported very large, widely propagating wet slabs and widespread wet loose avalanches over the past 48 hours. Some of these slides ran from 7000ft down to the valley bottom, traveling over 4000 vertical feet. 

While we expect we are past peak instability until the weather brings us a cooling trend, there is still potential for large wet avalanches. Consider the significant consequences of simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. While triggering a wet loose avalanche is becoming less likely, a large wet slab running to valley bottom should still be a consideration. Choose your terrain wisely, paying attention to the terrain even thousands of vertical feet above you. You should also expect to battle challenging travel in deep, wet snow.

Areas closer to the Cascade Crest received significantly more precipitation and average temperatures have been warmer. Farther east in the zone, much less water fell. Weather stations in the Wenatchee Mts picked up 0.2-0.4” as of Monday afternoon, while areas closer to the crest and further north received .75-1.00 inch of water. On Monday, avalanche professionals in the Holden area reported widespread natural wet avalanche activity, both from over the weekend and ongoing throughout the day. Wet slabs up to size D3 were frequent on northerly aspects, while smaller wet loose avalanches were more common on southern aspects. 

An NWAC forecaster braved the rain on Sunday at Blewett Pass. While this was one of the driest places in the zone, she still found wet snow issues by mid-day. Rollerballs were common. She also noticed the very strong winds along ridgelines.

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