Avalanche forecast

Southern Wallowas

Wallowa Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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Out of date — this forecast expired 6 years ago.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

Highlights

The storm that entered our area Tuesday morning came in wet and windy.Snowfall rates of about 1" per hour and strong south winds were observed from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. At some point during the night temperatures rose above freezing and snow turned to rain up as high as 8000' . Total amount of precipitation recorded at Mt. Howard was 1.5" which is a lot of weight added to the snowpack in a short period of time.Expect to find thick sensitive wind slabs on north,northeast,and east facing terrain at and near ridge lines.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    The atmospheric river event that occurred Tuesday into Wednesday morning brought with it copious amounts of snow accompanied by strong south winds.Expect to see large thick windslabs on leeward terrain above treeline and at ridge lines.On slopes steeper than 35 degrees that were unaffected by rain, these windslabs could be easily triggered by the weight of a person, causing a potentially dangerous avalanche.

  • Loose Wet

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

    The potential exists for instability to occur on aspects that face the sun as temperatures rise above freezing today. If you are recreating on or below steep sun drenched slopes and you notice roller balls on the snow surface,it is time to move to shady low angle terrain.Other signs that the snow might becoming unstable include snow dropping off tree limbs and sinking up over your ankles in sun saturated snow.When you start seeing these obvious signs of instability it is time to move to safer terrain.

Avalanche Discussion

It is worth noting that that the Solstice Rain Crust and associated facet layers still lurk about halfway down in the snowpack.Below this concerning layer I found facets (sugar snow) all the way to the ground.This thick layer of facets in the lower snowpack is consolidating. Also, these worrisome layers were unreactive in the snowpit tests I performed on Tuesday on Fat Ridge.For more details see the observation I posted for Tuesday,January 12.

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