Avalanche forecast

Mt Hood

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Mon
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 8 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Sunday may be pleasent day, but triggering a 1-3 foot thick avalanche in wind-drifted snow remains a concerning possibility. You can reduce the odds by avoiding steep and unsupported slopes with stiff, wind-drifted snow at the surface. Hollow-sounding slabs or shooting cracks are obvious clues of instability. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1.5–2.5

    The likelihood of triggering a 1-3 foot thick wind slab is decreasing as weather inputs relax, but if you get unlucky, these slabs could pack a punch, especially as you climb above 6000 ft. Hard slabs are notorious for providing less feedback and can often break in surprising ways. With this in mind, you’ll want to limit your exposure to slopes that may have this structure. You’ll want to use visual observations such as wind textured surfaces, recent cornice formation, and recent natural avalanche activity to help you avoid this problem. Using small test slopes or ski cuts are not a great tool to understand this type of problem.

     Be suspicious of terrain that can collect drifted snow, such as the leeward sides of ridges and canyon walls, below cornices, or on the rollover of steep slopes in the alpine.  The best strategy is to give steep, unsupported slopes with signs of recent drifting a few days to heal up before climbing or riding in steep terrain.

    (12/27/2025)

    The crown of an explosive triggered hard slab on Saturday at Mt Hood Meadows. Crown depths ranged from 1-3 ft thick. 

    E aspect @ 6000 ft

    Photo: MHM Pro Patrol

Avalanche Discussion

Friday night and Saturday brought 7-9 inches of new snow ( .50” SWE) with over 12 hours of very strong west winds. These west winds productively drifted new snow into thick slabs across Mt.Hood. The Mt Hood Meadows Pro Patrol reported easily triggered several soft and hard wind slabs in the D2 range with avalanche mitigation work, and also reported one natural avalanche. Unsurprisingly, they reported triggering these larger hard slabs with crown depths up to 3 ft in heavily wind loaded, east facing terrain at 6000ft. Backcountry travelers in the Pea Gravel Ridge area also reported a large, natural avalanche on an east aspect at 5800 ft. This avalanche ranged from 1 to 2 ft thick and propagated a few hundred feet wide. 

As high pressure moves into the region, slabs will begin healing and provide less feedback. However, these wind slabs don’t always heal overnight, so you’ll want to give these heavily loaded areas a few days before engaging in steep, unsupported drifted terrain. Another thing to keep in mind during this high-pressure period will be warming-induced avalanche problems, such as wet loose avalanches. I don’t think these will be too big or widespread on Sunday due to the amount of wind stiffened surfaces, but its still worth keeping signs of warming on your radar, especially around steep sunny slopes, like the White River or similar types of terrain where small wet avalanches could come with conseqence. 

State and local resources are working diligently to reduce the impacts of destructive storms that occurred earlier this month. We can help by respecting affected communities, complying with road closures, and adhering to ski area uphill travel policies.

You can help us out! Submit an observation on the avyapp or here.

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