Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 5th, 2017–Feb 6th, 2017

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Olympics.

New snow instabilities will need more time to settle out so make conservative terrain choices by choosing lower angled terrain and avoiding wind loaded slopes near and above treeline. Recent wind slab may be found on a variety of aspects Monday. 

Detailed Forecast

Additional light snowfall is expected Sunday night accompanied by a sharp cooling trend and followed by light to moderate showers on Monday.

There is some uncertainty to how much wind transport will occur due to a period of NE winds in the Olympics Sunday night. All aspects will be listed as wind slab may be found on a variety of aspects Monday. 

Storm slabs may still be sensitive on Monday. While deeper storm slab instabilities should be healing, it is still possible to trigger a large storm slab avalanche in isolated areas. 

Be aware that small loose dry avalanches triggered on steep slopes can entrain deeper snow layers.   

New snow instabilities will need more time to settle out so make conservative terrain choices by choosing lower angled terrain and avoiding wind loaded slopes near and above treeline. 

Snowpack Discussion

Weather and Snowpack

Strong NE-E winds were seen this past Wednesday and Thursday with very cold temperatures. 

A storm cycle began Friday with about 2 feet of snow accumulating in the Hurricane Ridge area through Sunday morning. Light snow showers with light winds were seen during the day Sunday. 

Recent Observations

NWAC pro-observer Matt Schonwald was at Hurricane on Friday (before most of storm snow arrived) and found scoured slopes or shallow new snow on E slopes and shallow building wind slab on SW slopes. He found no significant signs of instability, ski tracks still visible from last week and lots of surface roughness to fill in on lee slopes.

No observations were received Saturday or Sunday. 

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.