Avalanche forecast

Mt Hood

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago.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

Highlights

You could still encounter a few natural wet avalanches despite cooling temperatures and decreasing rain. Don’t linger underneath steep rocky slopes still holding snow. These areas could slide with little or no warning.

Avalanche problems

  • Wet Slabs

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

    The tail-ends of wet avalanche cycles are notoriously difficult to assess and predict. Several days of high-elevation rain thoroughly wet the snowpack. As water drains, wet avalanches could take many forms: wet slab, glide, and loose wet. Some of these slides may involve most or all of this season’s snowpack. 

    Avalanche activity should decrease on Wednesday, but slides may still occur. Avalanches are most likely in rocky terrain where patches of snow still cling to the cliffs. 

    In this case, while you might trigger an avalanche on these slopes, an isolated natural slide descending from above is more concerning. Pay attention to areas above you. Look for routes that help minimize the time you spend underneath steep rocky terrain.

    (1/15/2023) Example: A large wet slab avalanche that released from steep rocky terrain during a similar rain event last winter. Photo: Dallas Glass

Avalanche Discussion

Six days of wild, wet weather will slowly draw to an end on Wednesday. Even as temperatures cool and snowfall returns, it will take some time to heal the damage from all this water. Wet avalanche problems may linger as water continues to drain. 

Snow could slowly accumulate at upper elevations during the day. This shouldn’t result in a significant new dry snow issue. However, a few isolated pockets of wind-drifted snow might form. Instead, punchy wet snow, raging creeks, open holes, and plentiful obstacles could pose the greatest hazard as the weather shifts. 

It’s been quite the weather week on Mt Hood. Last Wednesday, there was barely enough snow for consistent travel. Since then, we built a snowpack, and two rain events tried to wash it away. Over 11 inches of water (and counting) fell at Mt Hood Meadows in the past week, much of it as rain. Needless to say, outside of weather stations and a few intrepid travelers, observations have been few and far between. We do not know the full extent of the impacts of these storms. On Tuesday, the USGS reported several seismically detected avalanches on the mountain on 12/2 and 12/4. The larger (D2-3) of these two events (12/2) likely occurred around 9000ft near the Sandy Headwall on the mountain's west side.

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