Avalanche forecast

Snoqualmie Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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Out of date — this forecast expired 2 years ago.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

Highlights

The threat of wet avalanches will continue as rain showers impact Snoqualmie Pass.  Make travel plans that minimize your exposure to wet surfaces and overhead hazards. Give yourself extra time to navigate low-snow hazards that have re-emerged over the past week. 

Avalanche problems

  • Glide Cracks

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2

    Another round of rain could tip slopes over the edge. Shed-style avalanches are erratic and impossible to predict. Although the snowpack has already been through a lot, not every slope has shed, and not every cornice has fallen. Liquid water can linger in the snowpack long after the surface starts to freeze, which may not happen until the rain stops. Whether glides, cornice collapses, or blocks of snow shedding from rocks, these large and unpredictable slides could occur at any point. This isn't the type of avalanche you trigger; it's the kind you avoid. Pay close attention to the terrain above you. Choose routes that help limit time traveling below crevasse-like cracks, looming cornices, or snow-covered faces.

    (3/21/2024)

    A glide avalanche that released this past week. There is still plenty of snow on this slope that could fall with a push from additional rain or warming.

    Photo: Andy Harrington

Avalanche Discussion

We'll have to wait at least another day to freeze up the surface and put our wet avalanche concerns to bed. Although they're trending toward unlikely, we can't entirely write them off while it's still warm and raining. Friday should be a notch warmer than Thursday, with a higher rain line. You could encounter some small loose avalanches in areas where Thursday's new snow gets destabilized by Friday's rain.

The snowpack has been through a lot this past week. Hot and sunny weather resulted in a significant loss of snow and a widespread wet avalanche cycle. The whole spectrum of wet problems has been observed during this timeframe - loose, slab, cornice, and glides. Percolation channels, layers of pooling water, and moist grains now dominate much of the snowpack, making it well-suited to handle the incoming rain.

Travel conditions have worsened over this period as well. Tree debris, open holes and creeks, and exposed ground have reappeared. Give yourself extra time to navigate these hazards.

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