Avalanche forecast

Snoqualmie Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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

It shouldn’t take long for the sunshine and warm temperatures to cause the snow surface to become wet and weak. This could happen on different slopes at different times. Once you find wet snow deeper than your ankle, head to shadier or lower angle terrain.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    First thing in the morning, the surface may be crunchy, and there probably won’t be much avalanche danger. That should change quickly as the surface begins to soften. Once the overnight crust breaks down, game on. Wet avalanches could go from non-existent to easy to trigger. 

    Pay attention to the snow surface and how it differs by aspect, slope angle, and elevation. When the surface becomes wet and heavy, it’s time to move to a different area. While it may be easy to anticipate these wet loose avalanches, determining how big they’ll get or how far they can run is tricky. They can easily grab you and drag you down the slope over cliffs or into trees. 

    At this point in the wet loose cycle, we’re mainly worried about human triggered slides. However, a poor overnight refreeze adds a level of uncertainty. Larger natural wet avalanches aren’t fully out of the question. These would be most likely below big rocky faces and could entrain all the snow down to the 3/25 crust. Planning routes that avoid being below these slopes helps remove the risk from these hard to predict avalanches.

    (4/3/2026)

    A natural wet loose avalanche near Snow Lake Divide originating in rocky terrain. Be aware of slopes above you at all times.

    Photo: Craig Muderlack

Avalanche Discussion

The mountains certainly look and feel a lot like spring. We’re expecting another sunny day with high thin clouds and temperatures in the 50s. Don’t forget your shades and sunscreen! While it may feel very spring-like, the upper snowpack is still undergoing its transition. At higher elevations and on more northerly aspects, below the surface crust, a foot or more of colder drier snow can still be found. On Sunday, we’re mainly worried about that snow above the very stout and obvious 3/25 crust. It’s not hard to find. It's the layer that might break your shovel.

This week, several natural and triggered soft slab avalanches were reported at the Pass. Many surprised avalanche professionals with how easily they triggered and widely they propagated. While unlikely, if you’re going to trigger a similar slide, it would likely be on a higher elevation northerly aspect or in a shady couloir where these slabs might linger the longest. These avalanches seem to fail on a layer of larger stellars at the 4/1 interface about 3-6 inches above the 3/25 crust. 

There’s not a lot of snow to fall off rocks or cornices to collapse, but heatwaves like this could certainly bring them down. If you see snow hanging in cliffs or looming along ridgelines, don’t linger below. 

We haven’t been able to shake the travel hazards this year. Open creeks, random holes, downed logs, and exposed rocks take time and patience to navigate.

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