Avalanche forecast

Snoqualmie Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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

Spring weather and recent snowfall will heighten avalanche danger on Saturday. As the day warms, wet avalanche activity will take center stage, but unstable wind-loaded snow may still linger in some areas. Keep your plans flexible and be ready to shift to more conservative terrain as conditions deteriorate.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    With warmer temperatures overnight and during the day on Saturday, wet avalanches should be your primary focus. Fortunately, the temperatures have generally been on a slow incline since the recent snowfall, keeping the slopes from totally coming apart all at once. That being said, wet loose activity continues to be a problem with the warming. Saturday will be no different. 

    Expect this problem to develop a little quicker on Saturday, first showing signs on the sunny slopes in the form of roller balls, small point releases, or snow shedding from rocks/cliffs. Most of the activity will probably be focused on W-S-E aspects, but N slopes could also turn quite warm late in the day.

    Watch for these indicators, and pay attention to the snow underfoot. If the snow starts to feel wet and sticky, shift to less consequential, lower-angle terrain. Limit your time hanging out beneath rocky terrain or cliffs. 

    (4/16/2026)

    This natural avalanche ran out of the Bryant Peak Couloir area. It ran an impressive distance down the slope towards Source Lake. 

    Photo: Eddie Schoen

  • Wind Slabs

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

    With so much recent snowfall and wind, there's still a chance you could find unstable wind-loaded or new snow out there. In general, there have been minimal reports of wind slab activity, but wind-affected surfaces do exist near ridgelines. Furthermore, Alpental Pro Patrol triggered a few slabs with explosives on Thursday, failing below the recent snow, on the 4/14 crust. These slabs are likely becoming harder to find and trigger, but steep, rocky terrain, convexities, and unsupported slopes are the places you may find them. 

    It's hard to say what it would take for these slabs to fail, but they could be large if they do. Best course of action is to limit your time traveling on suspect terrain.

    (4/16/2026)

    Explosive triggered slab avalanches that failed at the base of the new snow. These slides ran on the 4/14 crust. 

    Photo: Summit at Snoqualmie: Pro Patrol

Avalanche Discussion

The last avalanche forecast for the 25-26 season will be for Sunday, April 19th. Mountain weather forecasts will be published each afternoon through May 3rd. A huge thanks to everyone in our community for your support this winter!

Temperatures climbed a bit higher on Friday, generally 5-10F above Thursday. A surface crust developed overnight, but broke down quickly with the sunshine. Cloud cover filtered through, helping to limit the overall sun exposure. There have been multiple reported large wet avalanches in the last 36 hours. Natural releases have been spotted off the rocks and cliffs, and even through some rocky chutes. Observations from the Snoqualmie Mountain area on Friday reported light wind affect near the summit, and sunny slopes turning mushy by noon.

Saturday will be a bit warmer, with less of a cool down overnight. Cloud cover will increase, but don't expect any precipitation. As the day warms up, it won't take so long for the snow to turn soft and mushy. Consider any earlier start to the day, when snow surfaces are a bit more supportable, and exit the steep stuff as the day turns late.

As it gets later into the spring, operations are shutting down, and trailheads are getting quieter. This time of year, the weather can change quickly in a single day and even vary between drainages. Combined with fewer observations available, uncertainty is higher. If you’re headed out Saturday, take a thoughtful approach to snow stability, pay attention to the weather and surface snow, and give yourself options if conditions worsen.

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