Avalanche forecast

Central Cascades

Central Oregon Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sun
Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

On Saturday, lower elevations may see enough liquid precipitation by midday for small wet avalanches. At the upper most elevations, if more than two inches of snow falls from the sky look out for areas of deeper wind driftted snow where thin wind slabs could be present. This is most likely to be on steep leeward slopes below ridgelines in the alpine.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    Lower elevations below 6,500' could see close to half an inch of liquid water from rainfall by day's end Saturday. This will de-stabilize the surface snow and could result in small wet loose avalanches. This hazard will increase throughout the day as air temperatures increase and more water enters the upper snowpack. Keep an eye on changing surface conditions, and understand that wet loose avalanches could happen on all aspects. Additionally, it will be wise to monitor snow levels throughout the day. If it ends up staying mostly rain at mid-elevations, a wet loose problem could also develop at this elevation band. If you see rollerballs, pinwheels, or recent wet snow avalanches, consider less steep or consequential terrain. Although these slides are unlikely to bury you, small avalanches can still have big consequences in exposed, steep terrain. 

    (4/10/2026)

    Rollerballing and recent wet loose avalanche activity on a SE slope

    Photo: Ryan Marvin

  • Wind Slabs

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

    The wind slab problem for Saturday will be dependent on how much snow ends up falling at these above treeline elevations. Any new snow will be falling on a melt freeze crust, so utilize this as a baseline measurement for understanding new snow depths and where deeper drifts are present. With the current forecast, any wind slab will likely only exist at the upper most elevations in our above treeline locations. Odds are, cloud cover will prevent you from getting up to these elevations anyway. If you do chose to venture up high, look out for standard red flags such as shooting cracks and poor snow structure (strong over weak), to understand where a wind slab is present. If you see any of these warning signs, seek more windward terrain.

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