Avalanche forecast

West Slopes Central

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sun
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 9 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

A wet, windy storm will ramp up the avalanche danger overnight into Saturday. Expect marginal visibility, drifting snow, and a thin snow base hiding rocks and other early-season traps. Keep terrain choices simple and low-angle to stay clear of both avalanches and low-snow hazards.

Avalanche problems

  • Storm Slabs

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

    This storm should drop between 10 and 24 inches of moist new snow, depending on elevation and location within the forecast zone. New snow layers tend to bond quickly at the forecasted temperatures, but you can still find instability anywhere a stronger slab forms over a slightly softer, weaker layer below. You are more likely to trigger a slab in wind loaded terrain. It would still be wise to hunt down signs of instability anywhere you find more than 8 inches of new snow. 

    Look for strong over weak layering and use simple tests like hand pits and small test slopes to evaluate new snow stability. Shooting cracks and recent avalanches are red flag signs of increasing avalanche danger.  Given the thin snowpack and funky terrain features, it still might not be the best day to sneak into your typical mid-winter lines, even if you do find stable snow.

     

    Example of a long, shooting crack in wind drifted new snow.

    Photo: Joe Dellaporta

  • Loose Wet

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

    Most of the wet avalanche activity will hit overnight before temperatures and snow levels drop. But you should still expect to see soggy new snow at low and mid elevations. Look for a rebound in natural avalanches if temperatures rise more than forecast on Saturday afternoon.

    Avoid traveling on or beneath steep slopes or rocky features where you see signs of instability like rollerballs or small wet avalanches, or where the snow is simply soft and mushy. Wet avalanches that start higher on a slope can still run into areas with less consistent snow cover.

    (12/1/2025)

    Wet loose avalanches can still run far when the snowpack is thin. Small wet avalanches are visible below the rock prow on Table Mountain (West North).

    Photo: Lee Lazzara

Avalanche Discussion

This is the storm pattern we have been waiting for, but don't look for a sudden transition to mid-winter conditions. Expect continued precipitation and fluctuating snow levels into the next week - and the chance that the low and mid-elevation snowpack we build in the next 24 hours washes away. But hopefully not . . . 

Snow depths vary widely by elevation. The warm, wet weather of recent weeks has still resulted in snow at upper elevations, with both weather stations and human observers reporting 3-6 feet of snow. Low elevations held little snow until the last few days. An NWAC Forecaster in West North, east of Baker Lake, found 12 inches of snow at 4300’. Mid-elevations fall somewhere in between, depending on aspect and wind exposure.

 

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