Avalanche forecast

Olympics

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sat
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
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Out of date — this forecast expired last year. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Storm slabs may be easy to trigger on Friday. Avoid actively wind-loading slopes and steeper convexities. Dial it back further if you see shooting cracks or signs of fresh avalanche activity. 

Avalanche problems

  • Storm Slabs

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

    Slabs will grow larger and more reactive by Friday. They will be thicker and more reactive to the lee of ridgelines in wind-loaded terrain, but you can also trigger them on open slopes steeper than 35 degrees, particularly where the slope rolls away from you on a convexity. In the Hurricane Ridge area, these slabs should be 6-18" thick. They could be larger and even more dangerous in portions of the eastern Olympics picking up more snowfall.

    You can use quick hand pits or uptrack tests to see how the new snow is bonding to the old snow or crust interface and whether the recent snow has generated any shallower instabilities.  Shooting cracks and avalanches in the new snow are signs to avoid nearby steep terrain.  

    (3/15/2025)

    This 12" storm slab avalanche partially buried a traveller when the debris stacked up in a gully.  

    Photo: Public

Avalanche Discussion

Multiple human-triggered avalanches occurred at Hurricane Ridge the weekend of March 15-16. Around March 17th, a crust on W-S-E aspects was a shallow amount of new snow. Since March 19th, Hurricane Ridge has been in a storm cycle. That March 17th interface now exists below the 10" of recent snowfall on middle elevation shaded aspects, perhaps more in wind-loaded terrain. While ONP Rangers didn't find this interface to be particularly reactive, short-lived instabilities were developing within the storm snow. This produced cracking and even a small 4-6" natural avalanche at the edge of a tree well. The new snow fell down to 4000 ft Wednesday night, but warmed significantly even on shaded aspects below 4500 ft.

How Friday plays out depends on how much snow we get. We're expecting 7-8" of snow over the next 24 hours, which should be enough to create touchy conditions. Any less, and you might be able to steer around more specific wind-loaded slopes. If you head to the eastern Olympics where more recent and fresh snow is falling, prepare to make a more extensive snowpack evaluation and plan for higher avalanche danger relative to Hurricane Ridge.

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