Presidential Range

You are likely to find a generally stable snowpack and unlikely to trigger an avalanche on a re-frozen, icy snowpack. In highly wind-protected areas, watch out for drifts of new snow that may struggle to stick to an icy snow surface.

After a day of above freezing temperatures, rain, and freezing rain, temperatures have plummeted below zero overnight - about a 45-degree temperature swing in 18 hours. This has eliminated any previous snow stability and avalanche concerns moving into today.  Late yesterday and overnight, falling temperatures transitioned remaining precipitation back to snow. The Mount Washington summit recorded 1.7 inches of new snow and 2.5 inches of snow was recorded at Hermit Lake. This snow is currently being blown by extreme westerly winds and is moving into highly wind-protected areas including below rocks, cliffs and into the forests at lower elevations. It is not out of the question to find a very small wind slab in avalanche terrain today that could slide easily on a hard, icy snow surface. However, in most avalanche terrain, expect to find a wind-scoured, refrozen, and icy snowpack. Remember that triggering even a very small avalanche could have devastating consequences if it causes a fall in steep terrain on an icy snow surface with rocks, ice, and trees below. Crampons, an ice axe, and a helmet can help mitigate the risk of a fall in steep terrain today. OBSERVATIONS: Please consider submitting an observation on our website or in the new Avy phone app of what you are seeing in your travels. Submitting an observation hones your skills, informs other users, and improves our forecasts.