Avalanche forecast

Olympics

Northwest Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

Fri
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
Open full map
Out of date — this forecast expired 5 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Strong winds overnight and into Thursday morning could significantly increase the avalanche danger as they drift snow into deeper slabs. Look for blowing snow, cornices, and textured surfaces to figure out which slopes you want to avoid. You may encounter wind-affected snow well below ridgelines, along the sides of mid-slope gullies, and the even exposed features down in the trees.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    There’s plenty of snow to blow around and form new wind slabs in the Olympics. Strong winds overnight and into Thursday morning will easily drift snow into firmer slabs. Given the available snow and wind speeds, some of these potential avalanches could become large enough to kill you. Give steep wind-loaded slopes a wide berth. Use blowing snow, sharp cornices, and textured snow surfaces to figure out which slopes likely contain wind slabs that you want to avoid. Given the strong and shifting winds, you may find wind-affected snow in some unusual locations like well below ridgelines, along the sides of gullies, and even in open areas below treeline.

    (12/16/2021)

    Example: Wind textured snow like this can help you locate wind loaded slopes.  

    Photo: Sam Luthy

Avalanche Discussion

BRRRR! It’s cold in the Olympics. Temperatures on Wednesday struggled to reach into the low teens at Hurricane Ridge. NPS Rangers and an NWAC Observer reported similar conditions. Several feet (2-3’) of snow sit on top of and is well bonded to the Solstice Crust. While storm layers exist in the upper snowpack, no recent avalanches nor significant snowpack tests have been reported. The recent storm snow is largely right side up and settling day by day. 

With the recent very cold weather, there is potential that weak snow developed at or near the surface. If this happened, it will be buried by Thursday morning under several inches of soft snow. Any avalanche you trigger might fail very easily and break wider than you expect. Cracking and collapsing could clue you into the possible presence of weak snow at the new/old interface. You can look for sugary facets or feathery surface hoar below the new storm snow. If this setup exists you may trigger very shallow slab avalanches even in wind-sheltered areas. These slides should be very small and pose little hazard to you as a traveler. 

Regions covered