Avalanche forecast

West Slopes Central

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Tue
Alpine
4 · High
Treeline
4 · High
Below
3 · Considerable
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Out of date — this forecast expired 5 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Heavy rainfall will create very dangerous avalanche conditions as dry snow turns wet and unstable. Avoid traveling anywhere in the mountains where avalanches can start, run, or stop. Danger may be lower in the north half of West Central, where there should be less dry snow on the ground and less rainfall in the forecast, but wet snow avalanches are still likely.

Avalanche problems

  • Wet Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Very Likely
    Size
    2–3

    Rain on dry snow is never a good time—unless you’re a fan of wet avalanches. Heavy rainfall on a dry, layered snowpack can produce all varieties of wet avalanches, including slab, loose, glide, and cornice fall. 

    The best policy will be to eliminate exposure to avalanche terrain where the snow is mushy and the precipitation is wet, not white. This includes corniced ridgelines and snow-covered cliffs. Avoiding steep slopes is obvious travel advice, but also be aware of big terrain above you. Wet natural avalanches can run surprisingly far or step down into deeper layers and produce a very large, dangerous avalanche.

    (4/3/2025)

    Large wet avalanches produce thick, nasty debris. You don't want to get caught in this.

    Photo: Katie Warren

Avalanche Discussion

West Central didn’t produce much in the way of direct observations on Sunday, but nearby zones give us a pretty good idea of what’s going on. In West North, a quiet morning turned blustery as winds picked up and began drifting snow. Observers reported plenty of wind transport and fresh slabs, though most were shallow and small. Settlement seemed to keep loose dry avalanches in check.

Conditions at Stevens Pass and along Highway 2 (Stevens/Highway corridor) have been much more concerning. Professionals at Stevens Pass Ski Area and WSDOT have triggered very large avalanches over the past several days, including size D2.5–3 slides on the 13th and 14th. Even late in the week, observers reported unusually reactive conditions with avalanches breaking wide, running long distances, and occasionally propagating onto lower-angle terrain.

Snowpack information from Snoqualmie Pass (SNQ) shows two notable crust layers within last week’s storm snow: a crust from 3/12 about three feet below the surface, and the 3/8 crust roughly a foot below that at the base of the storm snow. The main question for Monday is whether rain and warming will send water deep enough to reach these layers. If it does, much larger and more destructive avalanches could quickly become possible.

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