Avalanche forecast

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Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Wed
Alpine
4 · High
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Avalanches will be widespread and easy to trigger on Tuesday. Continued heavy precipitation will build thick, unstable slabs of snow, which will be much larger in wind-drifted terrain. Avoid travel on steep terrain and choose safe locations to stop that are not under large avalanche paths, which may run naturally from above.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Very Likely
    Size
    1.5–2.5

    Heavy overnight snowfall and strong winds will quickly build large wind slabs on steep lee slopes. Choose simple, small, low-angle slopes to avoid triggering large and dangerous avalanches. Look for red flags such as recent avalanches, cracks shooting through the snow, and actively blowing snow to highlight the instability. Strong wind speeds often build wind slabs lower down in the terrain and in surprising locations. Stop in safe areas not exposed to natural avalanches from above.The recent 2-3ft of snow rests over a weak snow/crust combo. So you may also find sensitive storm slabs in sheltered terrain. Your best option during these intense storm cycles is to be conservative and maintain a wide margin of safety between you and any avalanche terrain. With thin snow coverage, even small avalanches could take you for a nasty ride over rocks or into open creeks.

    (12/6/2025)

    Skiers triggered avalanches in wind-loaded terrain involving all of the new snow near Blue Lake. 6700ft, NW. SS-AS-D1.5-I

    Photo: Will Govus

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Very Likely
    Size
    1.5–2.5

    Despite the cooling temperatures and drier weather on Tuesday, the snowpack will still be draining copious amounts of water. Rock slabs, cliffs, and gullies may still shed wet snow, so avoid lingering beneath these features. If temperatures cool more slowly than forecast, wet avalanches will be even more widespread. Rollerballs, wet snow surfaces, and recent avalanches signal wet avalanche danger. Wet avalanches may start small, but they quickly entrain significant amounts of snow as they move downhill, becoming very large and dangerous. Wet snow is heavy and channels through steep gullies, even into lower elevations with bare ground. So, even if there isn't much snow on the ground at your feet, make sure you are not exposed to any overhead hazard.

    (11/17/2025)

    An example of a wet avalanche channeling through a gully from earlier this season. Avoid lingering in these runouts.

    Photo: WSDOT

Avalanche Discussion

The warmup arrived on Monday, with the Washington Pass Weather Station jumping up 32°F in the afternoon. For upper elevations, this may have been an all-snow event, meaning there could be 3-4ft of new snow above 6000ft. Strong winds will accompany this storm and will continue through the day on Tuesday. With this multiday storm and challenging access, we have a lot of uncertainty about the specific details of what is happening in the snowpack. But despite the uncertainty, we are more confident about the dangerous avalanche conditions.

Skiers reported triggering multiple avalanches in wind-loaded areas between 6,500 and 6,700ft on Saturday. These avalanches were confined to wind-loaded terrain. But the recent snow fell on a layer of weak faceted snow over a crust. With this significant snow load and weak snowpack structure, a widely propagating, very large avalanche is not out of the question. Whumphing or remotely triggered avalanches could be signs of more dangerous persistent slab conditions.

It's still early in the season, with shallow snow cover at low elevations. Watch for difficult travel over rocks, logs, and open creeks.

With the warm start to the 25-26 winter season, we have less snowpack information than usual to start daily forecast operations. For zones and elevation bands with less snow than needed for avalanche hazard, we will issue a forecast with No Rating. Anticipated avalanche and weather conditions will still be updated daily. NWAC will issue an avalanche danger rating for a zone when enough snow to produce avalanches has accumulated at middle and upper elevations.

Regions covered