Avalanche forecast

Mt Hood

Northwest Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

Sun
Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
Open full map
Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

The avalanche danger is generally Low and you could travel on most slopes safely, but look for signs of active transport and things like shooting cracks to clue you into wind slab hazard. A bump in winds could drift the old snow into shallow and isolated slabs.  Expect variable conditions, ranging from soft, settled dry snow to a supportable or breakable crust. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Winds may drift some snow into isolated and shallow 'pockets' on Saturday. These could be reactive on steep slopes, like areas right off ridgelines and on exposed slopes higher up on the mountain. Look for signs of active wind transport, like bouncing snow particles and texture surfaes. Check to see how reactive any freshly formed slabs are. You can use small test slopes with minimal consequences for this. If you find shooting cracks or suspect slabs could be easy to trigger, then identify the terrain you'll want to avoid. Most likely this would be very steep terrain right near ridgelines or old cornice buildup.

    Example of moderate drifting above treeline. Photo: Joe Dellaporta

Avalanche Discussion

On Friday, observers noted that wind slabs had become unreactive, and in the sun there were some rollerballs but the snow wasn't entraining into wet loose avalanches. Expect a mostly cloudy day with light snow showers on Saturday. Winds should be a notch higher than they were on Friday, so some snow should begin to drift at upper elevations. At lower elevations, loose wet avalanches may become possible later in the day. If snow surfaces are punchy or unsupportable, move away from steep slopes. We expect a slight bump in avalanche danger on Sunday with the incoming storm. 

Recent storms have dropped anywhere from 3-8" on Mt Hood. This all sits on a crust that extends up to about 9,000ft from a very warm and wet atmospheric river storm last weekend. Pay attention to the distribution of recent snow over the crust and areas where it may be deeper. On windward aspects, you could still find the icy crust on the surface. If you get out, submit an observation to let us know what you find!

Regions covered