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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 26th, 2025–Mar 27th, 2025

Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Lizard-Flathead, Flathead, Lizard.

Continued high freezing levels with limited overnight refreeze of surface snow will keep the hazard elevated. Natural avalanches are likely. Avoid avalanche terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Numerous natural and artificially triggered size 1 to 2.5 storm slab avalanches were reported on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Looking forward, we can expect this activity to continue as warm temperatures and high freezing levels continue into Thursday. Deeper avalanches running on buried weak layers are also possible.

Snowpack Summary

A limited re-freeze of surface snow with freezing levels remaining high overnight keeps the upper snowpack moist or wet at all elevations.

Where still intact, a crust is buried 30 to 100 cm deep, except on high-elevation north and east-facing slopes.

A surface hoar or facet layer from late January is buried 100 to 180 cm deep on north and east aspects at treeline and above.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Cloudy with showers. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 2500 m.

Thursday

Cloudy with flurries beginning in the afternoon, 1 to 5 cm of snow. 30 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature +1 °C. Freezing level 2500 to 2300 m.

Friday

Cloudy. Flurries bringing 10 to 15 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h west ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1500 to 2000 m.

Saturday

Cloudy. Isolated flurries, 2 to 4 cm of snow. 20 to 30 southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1000 to 1500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid exposure to overhead avalanche terrain; avalanches may run surprisingly far.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried weak layers.
  • Only the most simple non-avalanche terrain with no overhead hazard is appropriate at this time.

Problems

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.