Avalanche forecast

Central Cascades

Central Oregon Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

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Out of date — this forecast expired 6 months ago.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

Highlights

Avalanches are likely and could be large on any slopes that the wind has blown snow onto.  For the most part these will be north and east facing slopes below ridge tops or other features that catch blowing snow.  Avalanche danger below treeline will largely depend on how much new snow we receive.  Several inches of new snow will do little to change our avalanche hazard from Sunday, while a foot of new snow means conditions could be more dangerous.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    A south wind has really done a number on our light dry powder!  On Sunday I was finding wind affected snow everywhere I toured except in the forest.  Continuing Moderate winds from the southwest and new snow will continue to build wind slabs.  On Sunday some of the wind slabs were very firm.  Wind Slab avalanches would be quite forceful with relatively hard snow.  It felt like a good day to stick to more protected slopes which had better riding anyway.

    If you are venturing onto slopes that may have wind blown snow, look for obvious clues:  snow textures are a great clue, as are variable snow depths on adjacent slopes.  Realize that several days worth of wind slab can exist in the same location, which could mean avalanches are larger than you expect.  

  • Storm Slabs

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

    Our avalanche hazard at lower elevations is a bit tricky.  Significant new snowfall is in the forecast, and it's looking wetter and heavier than what we've had during the last week.  If we get as much as a foot of new snow than I expect we'll see storm slab avalanches on steep slopes.  Likely we will get less snow than that, and instabilities will be relatively small.

    On Sunday, there were observations of test slopes avalanching on weak snow buried 16 inches and just above the February 8th rain crust (obviously this is the "Bad Bunny crust").  These slopes were between 6,800 and 7,100 ft and faced north or northeast.  This is the first we've seen of these small, poorly developed facets, and likely they are very isolated in the terrain.  It is worth keeping this layer in mind as the snow piles up.  It'll likely keep me off the steepest, most poorly supported slopes for a while. 

Regions covered