Avalanche forecast

East Slopes South

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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

You can trigger an avalanche in pockets of wind-blown snow at mid and upper elevations on Monday. Look for these slabs on leeward slopes, under cornices, and scattered in alpine terrain. Use visual clues such as blowing snow or wind textured surfaces to help you identify slopes of concern. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    If you trigger an avalanche on Monday, it will likely be in a wind loaded pocket of snow. You’ll typically find these slabs on the leeward side of ridges, under cornices, and near the top of gullies/couloirs. However, recent east winds may have deposited new snow into some weird spots such as west facing slopes or have cross-loaded terrain features. 

    So as you travel, keep your head on a swivel by paying attention to recent signs of wind loading. Look for clues such as blowing snow, recent cornice growth, ripples, or rounded pillows at the snow surface to help you identify where the wind has been at work. If you see shooting cracks or hear snow that sounds hollow like a drum, take a step back and avoid steep wind drifted slopes. 

     

    (3/5/2023)

    West aspects have been loading due to recent east winds. This was taken to the north in the East Central. You may notice similar loading patterns in the East South. 

    Photo: Matt Primomo

Avalanche Discussion

The light, steady trickle continues with Monday bringing light accumulations that could result in a couple inches of new snow. Skies should stay on the cloudier side, however, it may be possible for you to see some filtering sunshine. Clouds and cool temperatures should generally limit any wet loose activity, but if the sun does make an appearance you may notice some moist snow forming on solar slopes. If this does occur, keep an eye out for rollerballs or pinwheels as these are precursors of wet loose avalanches. 

A generally strong snowpack exists throughout the East South, and the recent storms have been improving winter recreation opportunities significantly. However, the recent snow has piled up on various crusts. While we have not seen any avalanche activity on deeper, older snow layers, we are tracking these interfaces with the additional loading events.

Katie Warren traveled to the Ahtanum Meadows area on Tuesday. They found 7-12 inches of new snow and excellent riding conditions. Snowpack test yielded unremarkable results. However, there was some weak snow below the Valentine's Crust, now about 2 ft below the snow surface. You can check out the observation here for more details. Before the storm cycle on the 25th, Joe Dellaporta traveled into the American Ridge area near Bumping Lake and observed slick surfaces at lower elevations, dry faceting snow at upper elevations in the shade, and a thin sun crust on slopes with a southern tilt (observation).  

Regions covered