Avalanche forecast

Stevens Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Wed
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired last year. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Wind-drifted snow at higher elevations is where you might be able to trigger a small avalanche on Tuesday. As you travel higher, if you notice drifts nearing 6 inches or deeper, consider steering around them on steep slopes. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–1.5

    Most avalanche activity will probably be limited to the new snow that falls Monday night and Tuesday. If we get a couple inches, plus wind, that could be enough to produce small or medium sized avalanches, especially as you gain elevation towards more exposed, wind-affected terrain. 

    Identify actively blowing snow, and watch to see where it lands. Search for wind-etched surfaces or smooth, pillowlike areas. You're most likely to get deeper drifts around rocky outcroppings, in gullies, or on the leeward side of slopes.

    You should be able to easily identify the new drifts over older snow layers. In spots where you find deeper and heavier deposits, consider steering around steep slopes. 

    (3/15/2025) You may find shallow, soft drifts like these that could react to a human trigger on Tuesday. 

Avalanche Discussion

If the sun pops out, or at lower elevations where we've got a mix of snow and rain, rollerballs or small wet loose avalanches could result. Wind transport in the previous few days probably built slabs somewhere, but no new wind slabs that react to a human trigger have been found recently. A forecaster was out in the Mill Creek area on Monday (observation), and they found the still-wet snowpack was slowly consolidating and gaining strength. They were unable to produce any wet loose avalanches, and new snow amounts over the old layers weren't enough to produce any wind slab concerns. 

Several inches of rain fell in last week's atmospheric river, resulting in a large avalanche cycle. The biggest concern with this recent period of warm weather and rain is that we haven't gotten much of a freeze since then. Temperatures are finally a little cooler, but the old snow surface is now insulated by a few inches of snow, and it's just not very frozen.

It's not completely out of the question that a glide or cornice-triggered avalanche could still occur, or just an expanse of snow perched on steep rocks could unexpectedly come tumbling down. If you're traveling beneath any of these features, do so hastily, as this is a low likelihood yet high consequence scenario. 

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