Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 11th, 2017–Feb 12th, 2017

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

Regions

Mt Hood.

Strong winds Friday and Friday night will have built fresh wind slab on lee aspects mainly near and above treeline. Watch for new wind slab in the upper portion of the below treeline band. Easterly aspects will be highlighted in the elevation/aspect diagram but watch for firmer wind transported snow on a variety of aspects.

Detailed Forecast

Sunshine or filtered sunshine through high clouds is expected Sunday with significant warming.  

Watch for recent new wind slabs at higher elevations, especially below ridges in easterly facing terrain. Watch for any wind deposited snow, however, such as cross loaded slopes or specific terrain features. 

Sunshine and warm temperatures Sunday should make loose wet avalanches possible on steep southerly slopes facing the sun.    

Some slopes exposed to recent winds or where less new snow was received after rain changed to snow, may have a very slick crust. Be cautious of uncontrolled falls if traveling on steep slopes with slick crust. 

Snowpack Discussion

Weather and Snowpack

A strong storm cycle Friday, 2/3 through Monday 2/6 deposited about 3-4 feet on Mt Hood. 

The great snow didn't last long as a strong SSW storm brought heavy rain to the Mt Hood area Wednesday afternoon through Thursday. About 2 inches of water fell mainly as rain at Mt. Hood from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday afternoon with significant snowpack settlement. A strong cold front swept through around 2 pm Thursday, followed by bands of light showers in SW flow along with the start of a slow cooling trend.  

Friday was windy with a slow cooling trend during the day. Light to moderate snow showers deposited about 6-8 inches of new snow by Saturday morning. 

Recent Observations

On Thursday, Meadows pro-patrol reported saturated snow down 25 cm but no avalanche activity in the ski area. The upper mountain was not observed due to strong winds and limited visibility. 

By Friday morning Meadows pro-patrol reported widespread loose-wet and small wet slab, natural activity had occurred Thursday near and above treeline. One very large wet slab occurred in the God’s Wall path up to size D3, likely releasing sometime Thursday.  Below treeline, a saturated snowpack was still re-freezing and became less supportable at lower elevations.  

By Saturday the old wet snow had formed a variable crust, ranging from supportable to breakable in spots. 

Problems

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.

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.