Avalanche forecast

West Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
No rating
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Out of date — this forecast expired 8 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Mountain access across West North is limited by washouts, landslides, and flooding. Warm temperatures and light rain are still keeping wet snow avalanches on the radar. Avoid travel beneath glide cracks, snowy cliffs, cornices, or any steep feature that can still shed wet snow.

Avalanche problems

  • Glide Cracks

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

    It’s not raining anywhere near as hard as it was, but it ain’t getting much colder either. Clear skies and rising freezing levels will bring warmth to upper elevation slopes that picked up new snow in the last week. Rocky areas still holding wet snow and corniced ridgelines can shed intermittently until we see real cooling.

    Avoid travel on or under steep slopes where new snow is warming and producing rollerballs and small avalanches. Keep an eye on what is above you and don't linger under anything that looks wet, sketchy, and poorly attached to the mountain. This includes terrain features, both very large and very small.

     

    (12/9/2025)

    A recent glide avalanche in the Baker Backcountry. Expect to see a fair bit less snow than what is in this photo -  when Hwy 542 is reopened

    Photo: Zack McGill

Avalanche Discussion

If you find yourself in mountain terrain this weekend, consider that there has been almost no information available for avalanche forecasting other than weather station data. Be prepared to assess the actual avalanche danger for yourself as you make it into snow-covered terrain.

As of Friday afternoon, mountain access along the Mt. Baker Highway was nearly impossible. Landslides and washouts damaged both Glacier and Canyon Creek Roads. WSDOT still has a closure on Hwy 542 just east of the town of Glacier. There is less information from access points along Hwy 20, but it’s safe to assume there is some amount of road damage in the Baker Lake and Cascade River areas as well. 

Avalanche concerns seem insignificant compared to the damage to infrastructure and property throughout the Cascades. No direct observations of avalanche activity were reported, as nearly no one has been in snow-covered mountain terrain since Wednesday. The lack of information could last through the weekend.

With the warm start to the 25-26 winter season, we have less snowpack information than usual to start daily forecast operations. For zones and elevation bands with less snow than needed for avalanche hazard, we will issue a forecast with No Rating. Anticipated avalanche and weather conditions will still be updated daily. NWAC will issue an avalanche danger rating for a zone when enough snow to produce avalanches has accumulated at middle and upper elevations.

 

 

 

 

Regions covered