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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 4th, 2015–Mar 5th, 2015

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Mt Hood.

This is a time of the year when you often need to watch for both winter and spring types of avalanche conditions. It is always good to read the forecast for details.

Detailed Forecast

Light winds and high clouds should be seen on Thursday at Mt Hood.

It is hard to say how much of a problem loose wet avalanches might be on Thursday. Watch for wet snow deeper than a few inches or rollerballs or pinwheels on steep solar slopes. The problem of loose wet avalanches should not be extensive but limit your terrain choices if you see more activity than expected.

Small areas or pockets of wind transported snow from last Friday and Saturday is most likely to linger on unusual south to northwest facing slopes on Thursday. But on most slopes the sunny weather will have caused these layers to bond and merge with underlying layers and it should no longer be a problem.

Cornices will not be listed as a problem yet but start to practice checking the ridges for these as we shift into spring.

Due to the low snowpack, especially below treeline, watch for terrain hazards such as open creeks, partially covered rocks and vegetation. Many areas below treeline do not have enough snow (new or existing) to pose an avalanche hazard.

Snowpack Discussion

The latest snowfall in the Cascades was late last week when about 4-10 inches fell near and above treeline at Mt Hood.

This was followed by strong northeast winds in the Cascades and at Mt Hood Friday and Saturday.

The Meadows patrol reported sensitive new wind slab Friday morning at about 6600 feet on northeast slopes with soft wind slabs around 1 foot easily releasing. 

By Saturday the Meadows patrol reported that the winds were so strong to have blasted the shallow surface snow to who knows where, rather than steadily building new wind slab layers.

Minor cooler weather on Sunday and Monday has been followed by sunny and gradually weather on Tuesday and Wednesday. This should have have mostly stabilized the recent wind slab layers.

The mid and lower snowpack at Mt Hood consists of layers of stable consolidated rounded grains or melt forms and crusts from multiple warm periods this winter.

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.