Avalanche forecast

Presidential Range

Mount Washington Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sat
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
No rating
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Out of date — this forecast expired 2 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Changing winds and new snow will create dangerous avalanche conditions through the day at middle and upper elevations. You could trigger an avalanche and the likelihood for naturally-occuring avalanches will increase as additional snow falls. Look out for rounded pillowy snow, blowing snow, and deeper drifts to identify today’s avalanche problem. Blowing snow may limit visibility and make careful evaluation difficult.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Winds are forecast from multiple directions throughout today, which means you could find a wind slab on all aspects today at middle and upper elevations. It may be easy to trigger a large wind slab avalanche from the weight of a single person. The changing winds may limit the size, but as winds shift northwest later today and increase in speed, larger wind slabs could develop in south and east-facing terrain. 

    Blowing snow may make it difficult to identify new slabs and safely assess the snowpack. Look out for blowing snow, deeper and dense snow drifts, smooth snow surfaces, and shooting cracks in the snow as these are all warning signs of dangerous wind slab avalanche conditions. Wind slabs are most reactive during their formation and with today’s dynamic condition you could find new wind slabs all across terrain.

Avalanche Discussion

Today’s conditions will begin at moderate, but as the wind direction changes, the speed increases, and snow continues to fall, considerable avalanche hazard will develop. 

The lower wind speeds are likely to develop small and soft wind slabs that will be reactive to human triggers. These wind speeds are also not likely to scour upper elevations, which is why you could find wind slabs there today as well. 

This morning there was consensus of limited concerns of the old wind slabs built from snow from the 9th-11th. The warm temperatures have been conducive to settlement and bonding of any weak layers. Forecasters and skiers alike have found generally stable conditions the last two days. 

Looking ahead, there is concern of the composition of these newly developing wind slabs as the winds change and speeds increase. It is likely to find a strong over weak composition with the increasing winds building firmer and stiffer slabs. While this is likely more representative of tomorrow’s problem, if wind speeds increase earlier than forecast, it is something you could find during daylight hours today.

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