Avalanche forecast

Stevens Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Fri
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Out of date — this forecast expired 6 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Strong west winds will build fresh wind slabs as light snowfall continues. Avoid steep slopes where wind-drifted snow is accumulating. If convergence sets up over Highway 2, snowfall totals could exceed the forecast. Deeper weak layers could allow avalanches to break wider and run farther than expected.

  

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–2

    Strong west winds and new snow should build a round of fresh but generally small wind slabs. With wind speeds into the 30s, you may see wind transport in more sheltered areas in addition to the usual wind-exposed terrain.

    Active wind loading could produce a natural avalanche or two at upper elevations. The greatest risk may be that a small wind slab avalanche could trigger a larger slab release in deeper, weaker layers. This is a worst-case scenario, but it happens often enough that it should stay in the back of your mind, especially in areas with intense wind loading and rapid slab formation.

    (11/27/2022)

    Stiff, slabby snow that cracks around your feet means you likely found some wind slab.

    Photo: Joe Dellaporta

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    Persistent slab avalanches can be large, break wide across terrain features, and be triggered from a distance. The last reported persistent slab avalanches occurred on February 27, but recent whumphing near Lake Valhalla shows this layer is still weak enough to produce instability in some areas. Give big open slopes—especially those seeing active wind loading—plenty of space and stay well back from cornices. They can fail unexpectedly, triggering large avalanches on the slopes below.

    (2/28/2026)

    A wide crown (D2) above Crescent Lake, between the summit of Rock and Howard mountains. E, 6,300ft

    Photo: Josh Hirshberg

Avalanche Discussion

Warm and wet conditions have been the name of the game the last few days. Schmidt House recorded 0.60 inches of precipitation in the last 48 hours, much of it falling as rain or wet snow. Slowly cooling temperatures allowed about 4 inches of snow to accumulate at 5000 feet by the end of the day. Winds were light and temperatures remained mild.

After three days of sunny skies and powder, the wet weather has kept many out of the mountains and limited field observations. Stevens Pass was generally quiet with minimal signs of wet avalanche instability and no new avalanches noted. In general, the persistent slab avalanche problem is trending downward as suspect layers round and gain strength in the mild temperatures. But signs of instability remain, and the still-weak snowpack structure is enough to keep this problem on the radar a bit longer.

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