Avalanche forecast

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Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Tue
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
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Out of date — this forecast expired last year. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Rain and snow will fall on a wet snowpack, creating complex and dangerous avalanche conditions. While the most obvious avalanches will be small and will involve wet or new snow, be on the lookout for cornice falls and glide avalanches, which could be big enough to injure or kill you. Give yourself options to travel on lower-angle slopes, and don't linger below cornices and snow-covered rock slabs. 

Avalanche problems

  • Cornices

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1.5–2.5

    Many ridgelines are thick with cornices, and the current warm-up is the prime condition for them to fall. You can minimize your exposure by avoiding areas under them and only stopping in places that are not threatened by these overhead hazards. When traveling on ridges, stay far back from the edge and don't travel on overhung snow. Gaping cracks on snowy ridges can indicate that a cornice is ready to fall.

    (4/2/2025)

    Cornices loom at 7,400-7,500ft above northeasterly aspects in the Hairpin Valley.

    Photo: Josh Hirshberg

  • Wind Slabs

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

    You can trigger avalanches in the new and recently fallen snow, especially where the wind forms drifts at upper elevations. You may also be able to trigger wet avalanches where the new snow is moist. Use small test slopes to see how easily the snow slides before committing to larger slopes steeper than 35 degrees. Watch for blowing snow adn cracks as indicators of unstable wind slabs. Be ready for changing surface conditions as you move through the terrain and climb in elevation. 

    Up to 5 inches of snow could fall at upper elevations by Monday afternoon. This will land on moist recent snow. At many locations, this storm will be a mix of rain and moist snow. Precipitation started as rain on Sunday. Snow levels will drop into low elevations by Monday.

    (4/2/2025)

    Signs of obvious wind scouring and loading on NW-N aspects of Stilleto Peak. 7,000ft

    Photo: Josh Hirshberg

Avalanche Discussion

If you’re in an area with less than 6 feet of snow on the ground, or venturing into areas east of Mazama, you may encounter deeper avalanches on older weak layers. If you dig and find a layer of weak, sugary facets or moist snow in the middle of the snowpack, steer clear of steep, open slopes. Falling cornices could initiate much deeper, larger avalanches in these areas.

On April 2nd, an NWAC forecaster teamed up with WSDOT forecasters to check out the snowpack and recent avalanches near Washington Pass. They found that the upper 3 feet of the snowpack had transformed to melt forms, and the lower 1/2 to 2/3rds remained dry. They also cataloged a number of very large avalanches that ran during the late-March AR rain event. While conditions have changed since then, the snow cover and looming cornices will give you an idea of what to expect.

Confidence in the avalanche forecast is low, as observations have become scarce and infrequent. You can help contribute to the forecast by submitting an observation.

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