Avalanche forecast

West Slopes Central

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Look out for and avoid small slabs of wind-drifted snow at upper elevations. Keep an eye out for smooth slopes where snow is accumulating. Outside of freshly wind-loaded terrain, there is minimal avalanche danger and lots of crusty snow surfaces.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    The real storm is on its way for Sunday, but light snowfall and strong winds ahead of it should start to build shallow slabs on leeward slopes. With westerly winds,  the western edges of the zone should see a bit more snow and stronger winds than locations more to the east. 

    Blowing and drifting snow should show you where new slabs are forming. With some sort of crust on nearly all aspects and elevations, it should be easy to track where the new snow might be deep enough to form a slab. You are most likely to see them on leeward slopes just below ridgeline. Look for more widespread slab formation if we see more snow and stronger winds than forecast.

     

    (2/26/2023)

    Use small, wind loaded features to test wind slabs.

    Photo: Jason Speer - Baker Mountain Guides

Avalanche Discussion

No new avalanches were reported from the zones adjoining West Central other than small human-triggered wet loose in Snoqualmie Pass. Sunny skies and warm temperatures dominated, but it looks like a majority of the wet avalanche activity occurred on Thursday.

The most noteworthy observations going into the weekend have to do with snowpack structure. While the facets above the Early February Crust (EFC) were found to be quite rounded and resistant to propagation in many areas, in others, they are still well-defined and produce propagation in testing. Widespread surface hoar observed Friday is also a wild card. The sun beat it down on solar aspects, and it will likely get blown off exposed terrain. But it may get capped and buried on shaded and sheltered slopes. Other layer interfaces in the upper snowpack also continue to show easy results with tilt tests, etc.

The take-home pay is the snowpack varies a ton from slope to slope due to variations in snowpack structure, wind scouring and loading, and sun exposure. We may see a wide range of avalanche activity - with no discernable pattern - with heavy snowfall and wind loading in the forecast.

 

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