Avalanche forecast

Snoqualmie Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Fri
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 4 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Continued snow showers overnight should have you bringing a winter mindset to the backcountry on Thursday morning. Look for wind-drifted piles of snow to steer around as you ascend in elevation. If temperatures and sunshine come out in the afternoon, your mindset will need to change toward springtime wet avalanches. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1

    Keep an eye out for shallow Wind Slabs to steer around at mid to upper elevations on Thursday. These potentially unstable pockets of snow should be more likely on the leeward side of ridgeliness, in confined chutes and gullies, or near rocky features such as the base of cliffs. Actively blowing snow, textured surfaces, or fresh small drifts behind objects are all visual clues you can use to help find where these slabs may have formed. You can use small test slopes or uptrack tests to see how the snow is reacting to your weight or if it is cracking. Quick hand pits as you travel can help you determine how the new snow has bonded to the old snow surface.

    (3/9/2022)

    Example: If you come across a shooting crack, it could mean that you're in wind-drifted terrain that you should steer around

    Photo: Shane Robinson

Avalanche Discussion

As of Wednesday evening, Snoqualmie Pass has picked up close to 3” of snow above ~5000 feet over the 3/30 interface. Lower elevations have been a generally wetter precipitation mix to this point, with periods of graupel reported. As a convergence zone that is currently impacting Stevens Pass sags southward, we anticipate that snowfall rates and accumulations should increase during the overnight hours. The convergence zone could deliver up to 7" of storm snow by Thursday morning before transitioning toward a more showery pattern. With cool temperatures and dry snow expected, be sure to have your winter mindset about you if you are traveling in the mountains. Dynamic weather may have created a few density changes for you to evaluate, such as that layer of reported graupel. 

That said, it is springtime and it won't take much for those cool temperatures to be overrun. As the day wears on, keep an eye on the weather and be prepared to change your mindset if there are prolonged periods of sunshine or warmer temperatures. If this happens, any newly fallen snow could destabilize and start to transition toward Wet Loose avalanches. Take note if the snow starts getting sticky and wet or you see fresh rollerballs. If it doesn’t happen Thursday, it is only a matter of time until springtime weather starts to shed this new snow in the form of wet avalanches. There’s always Friday.

While most avalanches (wet or dry) should be relatively small, don’t let one catch you in consequential terrain like pushing you over a cliff or into a stand of trees. We expect the majority of slides to be isolated to the new snow above the 3/30 interface but are continuing to keep tabs on everything above the Early March Crust for a bit longer, including the 3/8 facets. 

As you travel, keep an eye out for natural hazards such as bare ground, rocks, stumps, or open creeks on the surface or barely buried by the new snow. These were especially prevalent at lower elevations earlier this week and could now be more pronounced.

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