Avalanche forecast

Mt Hood

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Out of date — this forecast expired 7 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Your chance of triggering a wet avalanche on steep sun-exposed slopes will increase as the day heats up. Pay close attention to your timing and aspect. Consider moving to less steep terrain or shadier slopes if the snow feels wet, heavy, and cascades under your feet or skis. 

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    Your chances of triggering wet avalanches will increase as the day warms up. At the start of the day, a thin surface crust will limit wet snow instabilities, but look for this crust to break down quickly as the morning progresses. By the afternoon hours, steep sun-exposed slopes will feel wet and unsupportable - increasing your chances of triggering wet avalanches on steep features and moraines. 

    The threat of wet loose avalanches generally follows the sun around the compass: SE-E aspects in the morning, S-SW facing slopes mid-day, and SW-W in the afternoon. You can track your boot penetration and look for obvious signs of warming like rollerballs as you move from aspect to aspect. If you’re sinking past your boot-tops in wet snow, consider moving to shadier aspects or lower-angle terrain.  Any triggered wet loose avalanche could have a less-than-ideal outcome if terrain traps are present. 

    (3/7/2024)

    Cliffy, sun-exposed terrain is often susceptible to wet snow instabilities during periods of high pressure. 

    Photo: Koby Yudkin

Avalanche Discussion

Break out the sun hoodies and Hawaiian shirts; the January heat is ramping up. Freezing levels will be absurdly high, pushing up to 13,000 ft by Wednesday afternoon. The snowpack is starting to resemble something you’d see in April rather than January. Many sun-exposed slopes caught significant sun and warming by this point, so look for a melt-freeze cycle to ensue. Shaded aspects have stayed dry with chalky, wind-drifted surfaces present. Finding an unstable wind slab seems unlikely at this point - but maybe not impossible in complex, shaded upper elevations above 7000 ft. 

Warming and refreezing surfaces will reintroduce the long, sliding fall hazard on the cascade volcanoes, particularly during the early morning hours.  If you head into alpine terrain, be sure to have the proper traction and a way to self-arrest. 

Prior to the warm-up, 20-30 inches of new snow fell over a stout crust on January 3rd. We saw a few large to very large natural avalanches that likely ran on or above this crust during the stormy period on Jan 6th-8th. Since the storm ended, avalanche activity was mainly confined to wind-drifted terrain. The upper snowpack remains heavily wind-affected. Below the surface, backcountry travelers are generally finding a strong, well-bonded snowpack to the underlying January 3rd crust.

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