Bulletin d’avalanche

East Slopes North

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Danger d’avalanche

Tue
Alpin
4 · Fort
Limite forestière
4 · Fort
Sous la limite
2 · Modéré
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Points saillants

Monday will be a dangerous day in the mountains due to heavy snow, rain, wind, and warming temperatures. Avalanches will be easy to trigger and will run naturally from above. If you're venturing out into the storm, make sure to avoid avalanche terrain. Choose low-angle slopes and avoid exposure to large overhead avalanche paths.  

Problèmes avalancheux

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpin
    • Limite forestière
    • Sous la limite forestière
    Probabilité
    Very Likely
    Taille
    1.5–2.5

    Recent avalanches, cracks shooting through the snow, and heavy snowfall rates are all red flags for dangerous avalanche conditions. Avalanches will be easier to trigger as the day progresses, and natural avalanches are likely. It will be a good day to watch for these red flags while recreating in low-angle terrain, without exposure to large overhead avalanche paths. Make conservative terrain selections while this storm runs its course.Winds will drift snow into deeper slabs, creating larger and more consequential avalanches. Look for actively blowing snow, textured surfaces, or snow that feels stiff and hollow to identify likely locations for deep wind slabs.  With thin snow coverage, even small avalanches could take you for a nasty ride over rocks or into open creeks.

    (12/6/2025)

    Skiers triggered avalanches in wind-loaded terrain involving all of the new snow near Blue Lake. 6700ft, NW. SS-AS-D1.5-I

    Photo: Will Govus

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpin
    • Limite forestière
    • Sous la limite forestière
    Probabilité
    Very Likely
    Taille
    1.5–2.5

    Rollerballs, wet snow surfaces, and recent avalanches signal wet avalanche danger. Warming and rain will make wet avalanches easy to trigger and more likely to run naturally as the day progresses on Monday. Avoid steep slopes where you sink deeply into wet, heavy snow. Rock slabs, cliffs, and gullies are common locations for wet loose avalanches, so avoid lingering beneath these features.Wet avalanches may start small, but they quickly entrain significant amounts of snow as they move downhill, becoming very large and dangerous. The wet snow is heavy and channels through steep gullies, even where rocks and brush are still showing at lower elevations. Even if there isn't much snow on the ground at your feet, make sure you are not exposed to any overhead hazard.

    (11/17/2025)

    An example of a wet avalanche channeling through a gully from earlier this season. Avoid lingering in these runouts.

    Photo: WSDOT

Avalanche Discussion

Sunday night through Monday will bring a drastic change to the East North Zone, which has largely escaped the recent warm temperatures until now. We expect snow levels to rise steeply, bringing heavy rain to the middle elevations and snow to the higher peaks. Significant winds will also accompany this storm.

The Washington Pass area recently received up to 2 feet of snow. Skiers reported triggering multiple avalanches in wind-loaded areas between 6,500 and 6,700ft on Saturday. These avalanches occurred only in wind-drifted terrain. However, we expect avalanches to become more widespread in sheltered terrain on Monday. A weak snowpack structure is well documented in the Washington Pass area. The recent snow fell on a layer of weak faceted snow over a crust. With heavy precipitation and warming, this layer could become more active. There is a fair amount of uncertainty, but a widely propagating, very large avalanche is not out of the question. Whumphing or remotely triggered avalanches could be signs of more dangerous persistent slab conditions.

It's still early in the season, with shallow snow cover at low elevations. Watch for difficult travel over rocks, logs, and open creeks. If you venture out in the storm, be prepared to make observations and snowpack assessments. Watch for the "red flag" indicators of recent avalanches, rain on dry snow, and rapid new snow accumulation. Avalanches running down into elevations with little or no snow are possible during this storm, so remember to check your map for steep overhead terrain and avoid gullies that flow from upper elevations, even if you're on bare ground.

With the warm start to the 25-26 winter season, we have less snowpack information than usual to start daily forecast operations. For zones and elevation bands with less snow than needed for avalanche hazard, we will issue a forecast with No Rating. Anticipated avalanche and weather conditions will still be updated daily. NWAC will issue an avalanche danger rating for a zone when enough snow to produce avalanches has accumulated at middle and upper elevations.

Régions couvertes