Avalanche forecast

Mt Hood

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Low danger doesn not mean no danger. You can trigger small wet avalanches within slushy surface snow. Steer around steep slopes and reduce your exposure to terrain traps such as gullies if you find more than 6" of slush. 

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    Snow levels will rise well above NWAC forecast terrain Tuesday night with freezing levels climbing above 10,000 ft on Wednesday. All snow surfaces should be wet and slushy. You can trigger several inches of snow that fell on Monday to form small wet loose avalanches. In less wind-affected parts of the above treeline terrain, you can probably trigger a D1.5 avalanche. Watch for pinwheels and rollerballs as the warm temperatures combine with increasing solar radiation to destabilize snow surfaces. If you have six inches of slushy, wet snow above the most recent crust, that's enough to produce a natural or human-triggered wet loose avalanche. These can cause you harm primarily in extreme terrain or where they pile snow more deeply in a terrain trap such as a creek or canyon bottom. Cornices may become weak as the temperatures climb. Cornice fall, a hazard in its own right, could trigger small wet loose avalanche on the slopes below.

    (1/7/2022)

    Small natural wet loose avalanche (D1) along Hwy 35 (NE aspect, 3100ft)

    Photo: Andrew Kiefer

Avalanche Discussion

Several inches of snowfall on Monday changed to rain up to around 6000 ft, producing small avalanches mostly confined to the new snow on Monday.  Temperatures have hovered around freezing at the Mt. Hood Meadows 6500 ft station since mid-day on Monday with relatively consistent light rain falling up to around 6000 ft on Tuesday. Mt. Hood Meadows Patrol reported some rollerball activity on Tuesday, but no significant avalanches.

A major loading event January 2-7 brought 5-7+ feet of snow and caused a widespread natural avalanche cycle, but had a chance to settle and stabilize over the weekend.  Mt Hood Meadows Ski Patrol triggered a handful of wind slabs 6-12in deep with explosives Saturday and Sunday. Reports over the weekend indicated few signs of unstable snow. 

The most notable avalanche from the cycle last week was a very large natural on the upper Newton Clark Glacier. The crown was easily 10ft deep in places and debris reported ran 4500ft down into Newton Canyon. A public observation highlights this avalanche, in addition to another notable avalanche near treeline. Many smaller avalanches ran during the storm in wind drifted snow as well, along with reports of natural cornice falls. Wet avalanche activity was also widespread below the treeline. Surfaces on Tuesday will depend on your elevation with rain rills at lower elevations, increasingly moist and dense snow above a crust at mid-elevations, and scoured icy surfaces or deep wind drifts in the alpine.

Regions covered