Avalanche Forecast

Low visibility and bad roads have limited observations in the past few days. We expect a widespread natural avalanche cycle will have occurred during the storm on Tuesday.

Take a cautious approach on Thursday. Storm slabs may remain sensitive to human-triggering.

If you head into the backcountry, please consider submitting a MIN report.

40 to 60 cm of recent storm snow was accompanied by strong southwest switching to northwest winds, building cohesive slabs in lee features. This overlies 20-50 cm of snow over a crust and a well-settled snowpack in the alpine and upper treeline.

Treeline snowpack depths range from 90 to 180 cm. The last few storms have brought winter to the Cascades, and lower-elevation areas may reach the threshold for avalanches.

Wednesday Night

Cloudy with snowfall, 5 to 10 cm of accumulation. Alpine wind northwest 15 to 40 km/h. Treeline temperatures drop to -12 C.

Thursday

A mix of sun and cloud with flurries, up to 5 cm of accumulation. Westerly wind 40 to 60 km/h. Treeline temperatures drop to -22 C.

Friday

Mainly sunny with no new snow. Northerly winds 30 to 50 km/h. Treeline temperatures drop to -27 C.

Saturday

Sunny with no new snow. Northerly winds 20 to 40 km/h. Treeline temperatures around -25 C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
• Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
• Watch for signs of instability like whumpfing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks or recent avalanches.