Snoqualmie Pass

Mostly cloudy skies and mild temperatures should help keep the snowpack strong and generally stable on Tuesday. Expect a wide variety of snow surfaces as you travel including breakable crusts, heavy wet snow, icy slopes, and pockets of powder.

In some regards, the forecast feels like ground-hog day. Clearing skies overnight should allow any wet snow to freeze. On Tuesday, increasing clouds, mild temperatures, and a light breeze will help prevent the surface from significantly softening. This should result in a generally strong and stable snowpack. However, even under periods of Low danger, you may still find a few isolated pockets of unstable snow. So, don’t shut your brain off. Keep your eyes open for clues that the snow around you could avalanche. 

The danger on Tuesday depends largely on the weather. We’re expecting mostly cloudy skies. So, if the sun comes out and you find wet snow developing at the surface, start anticipating loose wet avalanches. These will be most likely on steep sunny slopes, particularly near rocks, cliffs, and other shallow spots. Punchy wet snow and new rollerballs can serve as great early warning signs that the surface is becoming wet and unstable. Be leery of steep slopes receiving direct sunshine when you see these clues. 

If you travel into some of the more complex alpine terrain, stay on the lookout for signs of wind-affected snow. Moderate to strong winds on Monday may have formed small isolated slabs at mid and upper elevations. Fortunately, there wasn’t a ton of snow to blow around during this wind event, which should help limit the size and distribution of this potential problem. When you find smooth firm pillow-like drifts, steer sound them in steep high consequence terrain. 

Even though the snowpack is generally stable, weak layers can still be found. The Late January crust-facets sandwich has been the focus of numerous observations over the past week. You are most likely to find a layer of weak sugary facets between two crusts at the base of the recent snow on slopes that don’t receive direct sunshine. Inconsistent snowpack test results continue to be the norm. So far, we haven’t seen or heard of any avalanches on these persistent grains around Snoqualmie Pass. This could change as we go forward, and we should keep an eye on this layer of concern. Below the Late January crust-facets and 1/30 interface, a very strong and spring-like snowpack exists. We are not tracking any layers deeper in the snow. 

The recent sunny weather left us with a bit of a mixed bag of snow surfaces. Cold dry snow persisted on shaded slopes through this weekend despite warm and sunny weather. Expect a wide variety of surfaces as you travel including breakable crusts, icy slopes, heavy wet snow, and dry settled powder.