Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 31st, 2018–Jan 1st, 2019

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Snoqualmie Pass.

Happy New Year! New Year’s Day should be a beautiful day to be in the mountains. Don’t let the nice weather fool you. You may still trigger avalanches in wind loaded areas. Look for and avoid wind drifts in unusual locations like lower on the slope and the sides of gullies.

Discussion

Avalanche and Snowpack Discussion

The only avalanche activity reported in the Snoqualmie Pass area Monday were loose wet avalanches that failed as the sun heated the recent snow.

In other zones, human triggered avalanches were reported Sunday and Monday. Many of these avalanches failed on a layer of buried surface hoar from December 26. Currently, we do not have any reports of this layer in the Snoqualmie Pass area. That doesn’t mean it isn’t there. You would be most likely to find a layer of buried surface hoar further east in the zone or at higher elevations, where the rain did not destroy it. If you find evidence of this layer, please let us know by submitting an observation.

12/31/18: Remotely triggered persistent slab avalanche in the Crystal backcountry. 

If you use the nice weather to travel to higher elevations or into more remote areas take time to stop and observe the snow. Due to stormy weather we have not received any information from higher elevations in quite some time.  

Snowpack Discussion

New Regional Synopsis Coming Soon

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.