Avalanche forecast

Central Cascades

Central Oregon Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

Tue
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
Open full map
Out of date — this forecast expired 2 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

There were a few observations of Wind Slab avalanches over the weekend.  These slabs overlay cold, weak snow and that means that they will continue to be possible on Monday.  While most Wind Slab avalanches will be very shallow, they are more likely to be large at alpine elevations.  Small Wet Loose avalanches will also be possible on the sunniest slopes.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    Cold, weak snow overlaying last week's melt-freeze crust has caused the Wind Slab problem to linger longer than we would usually expect.  For the most part, these Wind Slabs are very shallow, but isolated terrain features have produced surprisingly large avalanches like the one Elliott observed yesterday (7,600 NE).  If folks are using the good weather to ride higher elevation slopes, it would be wise to make good observations of how deep recently wind loaded snow might be before committing to larger slopes (the melt-freeze crust is an easy landmark in the snowpack).

  • Loose Wet

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

    Wet Loose avalanche will also be possible on Monday on steep slopes that see a lot of sun.  Although our snow surfaces vary by aspect and elevation right now, last week's melt-freeze crust is very near the surface on most slopes (I've been riding a lot of dust on crust).  Any Wet Loose avalanches will be limited to this newer snow, and therefore likely small.

Avalanche Discussion

It's a bit unusual to be continuing to forecast a Wind Slab problem so far out from such little new snow.  The culprit has been cold, weak snow above last week's melt-freeze crust.  I've been looking for faceting in this layer as I half expected it given the colder temperatures of late last week.  So far observers haven't found any, and the layer of failure has been preserved new snow.

Regions covered