Bollettino valanghe

East Slopes Central

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Pericolo valanghe

Thu
Alta quota
2 · Moderato
Limite del bosco
2 · Moderato
Sotto il limite
1 · Debole
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Non aggiornato — questo bollettino è scaduto 3 years ago. Stai vedendo condizioni passate, non il bollettino in corso.

In sintesi

We will continue to see moderate winds through the night before they taper Wednesday morning. At elevations above the recent rain/snow line, the winds drifted snow into stiff slabs where you could trigger avalanches. Look for textured surfaces and pillow-like drifts near ridges to identify and avoid these wind-loaded features.

Problemi valanghivi

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alta quota
    • Limite del bosco
    • Sotto il limite del bosco
    Probabilità
    Possible
    Dimensione
    1–2

    Tuesday was quite blustery, with winds in the 20-30mph range at many weather stations. Not much snow made it very far east of the crest during this storm, but any soft dry snow easily drifted into wind slabs. We expect most wind slabs will be small, but the western edge of the zone had higher snow totals, and avalanches could be larger in these areas. On Saturday, there were reports from Mission Ridge of wind slabs running on an old layer of buried surface hoar. While unlikely, older wind slabs formed above 6000ft may still run on this weak snow layer. The surface hoar layer is likely isolated in distribution, but there is potential for a large surprising avalanche on northerly aspects. The most likely locations to trigger a wind slab will be in alpine terrain near steep, rocky ridgelines and confined gullies. If you see large pillow-like drifts, shooting cracks, or the snow feels hollow beneath you, simply travel on lower-angle slopes or steer around these wind-loaded features.

    (4/8/2023)

    Slab triggered by a cornice fall that ran on a surface hoar layer from the end of March.

    Photo: Mission Ridge Ski Patrol

Avalanche Discussion

Wednesday is going to be quite cool, with partly cloudy skies. However, springtime cloud forecasts can be tricky. If we see longer duration cloud breaks, we could see some wet loose avalanche activity. The April sun only takes a little time to warm snow surfaces, particularly in areas with fresh snow. We expect any wet loose avalanche activity to be small and isolated to steep, sunny slopes with over a few inches of new snow. There may also be some lingering glide avalanche possible on smooth rock faces. If you see a big frowning glide crack in the snowpack on steep, smooth terrain, give yourself a wide berth around these unpredictable avalanches. Overnight temperatures on Tuesday night will drop into the teens, likely forming a thick crust on surfaces at mid and lower elevations. The recent rain and warm temperatures changed the landscape a bit, and you can expect challenging travel and lots of bare ground at lower-elevation trailheads. 

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