Avalanche forecast

West Slopes Central

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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Out of date — this forecast expired 2 years ago.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

Highlights

Snowfall varied widely across the zone resulting in more dangerous conditions in some areas than others. You’re most likely to trigger a slab on very steep slopes, near convex rollovers, or in wind affected areas. Start small and gather information about the new snow before committing to steeper terrain.

Avalanche problems

  • Storm Slabs

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

    It's been a very stormy week! The upper snowpack consists of a variety inter-storm layers, forming crusts, and wind affected snow. Even with the improving weather, be a little distrustful of the snow. Certain features make it more likely to trigger a slide. Unsupported, convex, very steep, and wind loaded slopes could all produce slab avalanches. 

    Simple uptrack tests, hand pits, and small slopes could give you a glimpse into how the upper few feet or so of the snow will respond. Ease into the terrain by starting on smaller and lower consequence slopes to gather information. Keep it dialed back if you see tests fail easily, produce cracks, or release small avalanches. 

    In the southern part of the zone (Hwy 2- I90) a Puget Sound Convergence Zone brought much more snow and could result in larger, more dangerous avalanches.

    (12/30/2024)

    Isolated cracking in wind-drifted snow. 

    Photo: Katie Warren

Avalanche Discussion

Sunshine and soft snow sounds like a great day! It will surely be inviting in the morning, but remember this is our first real break in nearly a week of active weather. It will take a bit of time for the snowpack to heal. Given all the recent snow, there’s a lot we don’t know, even in our more highly used forecast zones. This uncertainty increases in places like the West Central, particularly at upper elevations. 

With the sun in the morning, you could see piles of rollerballs or snow shedding from cliffs. Increasing clouds should put and end to these wet snow concerns before they become too big of a problem. If sunshine persists longer than anticipated you could see a few small natural avalanches, particularly on steep southerly slopes. 

NWAC forecasters in the nearby Stevens Pass zone Monday found a generally dry and layered upper snowpack above about 4500 ft. Tests continue to highlight a variety of layers and show avalanches could still occur. In the West North zone, NWAC forecasters found fresh snow over a newly forming crust. Which is more like the West Central? Hard to say. Given the recent storm tracks, it's safe to say much more snow fell in the West Central (similar to Stevens) than areas further north. However, Stevens likely stayed cooler while the West Central warmed and saw rain on Saturday.

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