Avalanche forecast

East Slopes Central

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Light snow with moderate winds could form shallow drifts of snow where you could trigger an avalanche. Watch for cracking in stiff surface snow as a sign to steer around steep slopes. Avalanches will likely be small and confined to steep terrain below ridgelines, but use caution in terrain where you could be carried into or through rocks, trees, or other obstacles. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1

    This storm isn't packing much moisture, but a few inches of snow with moderate winds could form shallow drifts at upper elevations. You're likely to find wind slabs on steep lee slopes below ridgelines. They may form over slick crusts and weak surfaces, making avalanches easy to trigger. Cornice formations and stiff, textured surfaces are good indicators of wind-loaded terrain. A great tool for assessing freshly formed wind slabs is to use small test features to assess how the snow reacts. Cracking or small slabs indicate unstable wind slabs. While we expect wind slabs to be small, they could still carry high consequences in steep, rocky, or confined terrain. 

    (2/14/2025)

    A shooting crack in a small wind loaded slope. These small features give great feedback on how larger slopes may react. 

    Photo: Dallas Glass

Avalanche Discussion

Friday night will bring a few inches of snow to areas in the western edge of the zone, with less further east. Moderate winds that drift the snow around will be the more impactful weather feature of the day. 

Observations from this zone indicate complex, weak layering in the upper snowpack. There is widespread surface hoar development, crust/facet sandwiches, and a poor bond between recent snow and slick crusts below. These layers and interfaces will likely be buried on Friday night. While this storm won't likely tip the weak surfaces over the edge, it may help preserve these weak layers to plague us in the future. After this first storm, it will be useful to use small hand pits to check on the new interface. Take note and send us an observation if you see buried surface hoar or if the overlying snow doesn't seem well bonded. Looking forward to a hopeful pattern shift to snowier weather next week, there are a few things to keep in mind. Snow at lower elevation bands may be falling on bare ground. Even in terrain higher up, there are a lot of exposed hazards that you don't normally see this time of year. These include rocks, random holes, creeks, and downed logs. Give yourself extra time and precaution to manage these “early season” conditions and know that some hazards may be obscured by new snow.

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