Avalanche forecast

Presidential Range

Mount Washington Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 6 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Wet snow avalanches remain a concern as the warmest temperatures of the winter persist, with rain added to the mix today. Minimize your time spent under large, steep snow slopes and recognize the unpredictable nature of wet avalanches. Plan a route that minimizes your exposure to springtime mountain hazards such as deep open holes in the snowpack, falling ice, and undermined snow.

Avalanche problems

  • Wet Slabs

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

    What and where is it: Large wet slab avalanches are unlikely but not impossible as meltwater and rain move through the snowpack. Multiple crust layers buried in the top 3 feet of the snowpack have allowed water to collect and weaken layers of snow deep below the surface. 

    How can you recognize it: Wet, soft snow at the surface is a sign of potentially unstable conditions deeper in the snowpack. Very warm temperatures, rain, and melting snow in the terrain are all signs that water is moving down through the snowpack. To understand how water is moving through the snowpack, you will have to dig down to see how deeply water has saturated the snow. 

    How can you manage it: Steep snow-covered slopes should be treated with caution today. Wet slabs can have limited warning signs about instabilities below the snow surface. Wet avalanches are challenging to forecast and difficult to manage, so consider keeping terrain choices simple and minimize your time spent under large, steep slopes.

Avalanche Discussion

While the weather feels like spring and the rapid onset of spring hazards may have us in a spring mindset, the snowpack is not there yet. Stout crusts have limited water from saturating the snowpack, as forecasters are still finding dry snow beneath them. For additional detail about the current snowpack, read through this forecaster observation.

Days of warm temperatures without a substantial refreeze in ravines have kept wet slabs a concern with continued elevated avalanche hazard. This leaves a lingering concern for the unlikely scenario of a large, unpredictable wet slab avalanche, as water could pool on an old crust layer. Wet snow debris is dense, heavy, and destructive and should not be taken lightly. 

While wet slabs are the most serious concern, do not underestimate triggering a smaller, wet loose avalanche or a large wet sluff of loose snow in steep terrain. While this is not likely to bury you, it may be heavy, powerful, and entrain a surprising amount of snow on the way down. 

Several days of very warm temperatures have rapidly accelerated the development of other mountain hazards that should be factored into your decision-making and route planning. The chance of encountering falling ice, deep open holes, and undermined snow exists today. Brush up on your knowledge of springtime mountain hazards and how you could manage them.

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.

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