Avalanche forecast

Snoqualmie Pass

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Out of date — this forecast expired 5 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Sunday will be last call for sunny weather and mild temperatures before an incoming storm clouds up our skies. Firm surfaces in the morning could make travel difficult before softening in the sunshine. Once a slope becomes soft enough that you are sinking in ankle-deep, wet avalanche potential will increase.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–1.5

    Take note of how the snow surface is changing throughout the day due to the sun’s influence. If the top couple inches of snow is getting soft and wet, the potential for you to trigger a Wet Loose avalanche is increasing. New rollerballs or pinwheels are other indicators that the snow is reaching the threshold for producing these slides. On Sunday, these avalanches may be more easily initiated in shallow points in the snowpack such as near rocks and cliffs, especially on sunny slopes at mid to upper elevations. They often start at a point before entraining snow and fanning out as they move downhill. You can minimize the risk involved with these slides by heading for lower angled or shadier terrain and being cognizant of nearby terrain traps.

    (2/10/2022)

    This Wet Loose avalanche crossed the summer hiking trail on Granite Mountain on Thursday (2/10). 

    Photo: Public Observation

Avalanche Discussion

Sunday should be the final day of the warm and sunny weather that has dominated the zone for what seems like months now. With a good freeze expected on Saturday night and the forecast calling for increasing clouds on Sunday afternoon ahead of an approaching storm, the window for the surface to warm and destabilize could shrink. However, temperatures should remain warm, and cool east winds should ease, so continue to watch for softening surfaces, sagging cornices, and hanging blocks of snow that could fall on you from above. Travel conditions may be difficult on slopes that remain firm, so be sure to bring the proper equipment needed to prevent yourself from taking a long and uncontrolled fall. If you decide to venture into bigger high alpine terrain, of course, the potential for more consequential avalanches or falls goes hand in hand with your decision.

The weak snow around the Late January Crust remains in place but is quickly getting bridged as the surface crust around the zone builds with repeated freeze/thaw cycles. At this point, we expect any avalanche on this layer will need a larger trigger such as a cornice collapse. Moving forward we will continue to monitor this setup and you should use it as a baseline to dig down to. Above the interface, you will find a series of melt-freeze crusts and up to a foot of settled storm snow. This snow has not yet made a full transition to spring-like polycrystals but is considered generally strong.

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