Avalanche forecast

West Slopes Central

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

7:30 AM UPDATE: More snow than expected fell overnight, totaling around 6 inches with wind, so avalanche danger has been elevated to Moderate for Wind Slabs in the mid and upper elevation bands. Expect to receive a couple inches of snow with wind overnight, but this will probably only result in little wind drifts that you might be able to trigger a small inconsequential avalanche on. Your main concern is traveling above terrain traps, where getting knocked off your feet above a cliff, boulderfield, creek, or stand of trees could cause you harm. If more snow falls than expected, danger could be higher. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    A couple inches of snow with moderate winds overnight could develop small, soft, wind slabs that might just avalanche with a human trigger. The higher you go and the more wind effect there is, the more reactive these small slabs could be. Search for smooth, pillowlike drifts, or wind-textured surfaces.

    Focus on new slab depths. If you find any drifts nearing 6 inches in depth, or you find these shallow deposits slide easily on the underlying layer, consider steering clear of places where even a tiny slide could cause harm, like above terrain traps. In one of these areas, even a tiny slide that could knock you off your feet might send you off a cliff or into a gully, or through hard, unmoving objects like trees or boulders. 

    (1/9/2023)

    Wind slabs like this could fail on steep slopes with a human-trigger.

    Photo: Irene Henninger

Avalanche Discussion

We're finally seeing at least a brief cooling trend where old snow layers should firm up and lingering glide, cornice, or random snow block fails are now unlikely. Other than a slight padding from the inch or two of new snow, you'll probably find crusty and irregular surfaces. 

An atmospheric river bringing rain to upper elevations produced many large and very large wet avalanches February 21-23, some of which stepped down to our January Drought Layer 3-5ft beneath the surface. The storm concluded on the 25th with 1-2ft of dry snow and subsequent small to large storm slab avalanches. The storm totaled about 7 inches of water. By February 26, temperatures increased, and wet avalanches overwhelmed our forecasts for the next five days.

If you make it into the backcountry please share with us what you find by submitting an observation HERE or on the Avy app. 

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