Meet NWAC’s Non-Profit Team: Liz Daniel, Deputy Executive Director

As the 2025/26 season approaches, we figured it was the perfect time to introduce the incredible team behind NWAC’s non-profit operations. This dedicated group is working hard throughout the summer to expand NWAC’s educational programming, deepen community engagement, and strengthen our fundraising efforts. With fresh energy and big goals, the team is more excited than ever to support and grow our impact in the season ahead.

This week, we’re chatting with Liz Daniel, Deputy Executive Director.

What brought you to NWAC?

When I saw a job opening at NWAC, I was ecstatic about the chance to combine my non-profit development experience with my passion for skiing and the outdoors. I was eager to become more involved in the PNW backcountry community, and I’m so glad my path brought me to NWAC! It’s been a whirlwind of two years, and I’ve met so many incredible people through my job here.

What’s your role at NWAC, and what does a typical day look like for you?  

I’m NWAC’s Deputy Executive Director. I develop our fundraising strategies and event plans, manage the non-profit staff, and work with board members, community members, and stakeholders to ensure NWAC’s longevity and success in our mission. Every day feels pretty different, which keeps me on my toes and learning new skills. Some days I’m drafting grant proposals, some days I’m creating fundraising campaigns, and some days are full of meetings with NWAC’s partners.

What’s one NWAC program or initiative you’ve been especially proud to contribute to? 

I’ve really enjoyed helping shape the Northwest Snow & Avalanche Workshop (NSAW) the past couple of years. When I started at NWAC, we changed the format to interactive breakout sessions rather than a full day of lecture-style workshop. It’s so fun to help find all of the great NSAW speakers and see everyone moving from classroom to classroom throughout the day. The energy and community building at the workshop is top notch!

What’s your favorite place in the NWAC forecast zones to spend time and what do you love about it?

Oooh this is a tough question. I’m really fond of memories at Crystal Mountain in the West South zone (my husband proposed on Mount Crumpit!). But when it comes to spending summertime in the mountains, I’m always awed by the North Cascades in the East North zone. While I’m there, I always make it a priority to stock up on a salted baguette and goat cheese from the Mazama Store for any and all hikes.

What’s one thing you want every backcountry user to know?

It’s okay to not be a hardcore backcountry recreationist, and it doesn’t make you less-than! You don’t have to be chasing huge lines to consider yourself a backcountry skier/boarder/etc. Sometimes with backcountry culture, it feels like you have to be out every weekend, finding the best snow and impressive routes, but it’s totally fine to be a leisure skier! I have to remind myself of this all the time. It’s easy to get caught up in the hype.

What excites you most about the future of NWAC and/or avalanche safety?

I’m excited about all of NWAC’s innovation. It was incredible to be part of the Avy app launch my first year at NWAC, and now we have a huge website rebuild project in the works. I’ve seen the US avalanche centers come together and collaborate more than ever this past year, and I can’t wait to see what we can achieve now that we’re pooling our resources. NWAC innovates like no other – it’s inspiring to be a part of!

Describe a particularly memorable day on snow from this past season.

I love a team ski day – especially when it involves glitter. I discovered glitter freckles this season, and that made our NWAC ski day even more memorable. 10/10 highly recommend adding glitter freckles, temporary tattoos, and/or boot charms to your next day on the snow.

Motorized Avalanche Awareness Classes

Don’t Miss NWAC’s Avalanche Awareness Classes for Motorized Users!

Your sled is tuned up and the snow is falling… but have you refreshed your avalanche safety knowledge? NWAC offers FREE virtual Avalanche Awareness classes every month specifically for snowmobilers, so that you can make every ride a round trip. Learn the basics of avalanche safety or refresh what you already know in this 90-minute class led by a motorized avalanche instructor. 

2024/25 Class Schedule
Classes take place on Zoom the 2nd Tuesday of every month at 6:30pm PST. Click the links below to register for a class.

Classes are not recorded, however if these classes do not fit your schedule, you can check our class calendar to find another class near you.

Questions? Email devon@nwac.us.

We hope to see you at a class soon!

What will La Niña mean for the Pacific Northwest mountain snowpack?

The Climate Prediction Center asserts: “La Niña is favored to emerge in September-November 2024 (60% chance) and is expected to persist through January-March 2025.” Like most things in life, the devil is in the details. So how do we answer the questions you’ve likely been daydreaming about? Are we really going to get a La Niña winter? What will that mean for our snowpack? We explore how the snowpack in our region responds to the 3-month moving average of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) anomalies in the middle of our winter season (also known as December-January-February or “DJF” anomalies).

Photo by Matt Patterson

The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a period of fluctuation in SST and the air pressure of the overlying atmosphere across the equatorial Pacific Ocean. ENSO has three phases: El Niño, La Niña, and Neutral. The October 10th CPC forecast predicts the DJF anomaly this season will either be a 5% chance of a strong La Niña, 25% chance of a moderate La Niña, 41% chance of a weak La Niña, 29% chance of neutral conditions, or a 1% chance we enter weak El Niño conditions in early 2025. Quite a range of potential outcomes!

Before your mind wanders too far with all these possibilities, let’s compare the percentage of normal peak seasonal snow depth (inches) against the DJF anomaly strength (ENSO phase) using our snowpack climatology dataset.

Snowpack Climatology Dataset

A moderate La Niña tends to be quite favorable for snowfall along the west slopes and crest of the Cascades (>110% of normal). Peak snow depth is markedly lower for a weak La Niña, except at Mission Ridge, but remains near normal. The outcome tilts slightly more negative in an ENSO neutral phase where slightly below normal conditions are favored at all stations except Timberline. Well-below-average peak snow depths (76-84% of normal) would be anticipated should we tip into a weak El Niño by January (1% chance). Note that Mission Ridge (on the east slopes of the Cascades) has a weaker signal due to ENSO than the stations near or west of the Cascade Crest and therefore doesn’t follow the same trend. 

If we look specifically at an average of the four sites with the longest and most robust data records (Mt Baker, Stevens Pass, Snoqualmie Pass, and Paradise), we can see the scatter of the data. The graph below illustrates the relationship between DJF SST anomalies and peak snow depths averaged across these sites. For every 1°C increase in SST anomaly, peak snow depth decreases by 1 foot. This relationship is statistically significant, with a p-value of 0.0052, confirming that warmer winters (associated with El Niño) lead to lower snowpacks across the Pacific Northwest. If you recall the recent 2023-24 season (star on the plot below), it was a shallower peak snowpack than we would have anticipated from the ENSO regression trendline. 

If we zoom in a bit closer, we can see data in the range of possible outcomes for the 2024-25 winter:

All moderate and strong La Niña seasons in the dataset have peak snow depths greater than or equal to the mean for ENSO neutral. And all of these moderate and strong La Niña years exceed typical snow depth values of an El Niño year by 5% or more. All that to say, if the negative Sea Surface Temperature anomaly intensifies sufficiently, we’re in store for a great season!

Photo by Matt Patterson

Some less-than-stellar snowpack years start coming into the mix as we head into the most probable ENSO phases for the 2024-25 season–a weak or neutral La Niña–with little to no weighting on the dice. Some of the worst seasons in PNW history have occurred in a weak El Niño, so fingers crossed the Niño 3.4 region of the Pacific Ocean (where we measure ENSO SST anomalies)  doesn’t enter El Niño territory by January. Fortunately, the odds of that are very low! 

To summarize, the strength of an anticipated La Niña ENSO phase has a major influence on our chances for an above-average snow season in our forecast zones. A moderate La Niña or stronger gives us very high chances of normal to above normal peak snowpacks. Whereas a weak La Niña or ENSO neutral conditions give us a range of potential outcomes close to the overall average for our region.

So if you want to load the dice in favor of a cold, snowy winter in our mountains, root for strong upwelling of cold water off the coast of South America!

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Disclaimers:

  • The datasets are not fully quality-controlled.
  • The impact of long-term climatic changes has not been incorporated into this study, but preliminary analysis suggests that ENSO impacts remain larger than the overall climate trends.

In Memory of Matt Primomo

In the aftermath of the loss of beloved community members, we wanted to share some resources.

For those of you grieving, we’re with you. If you are hurting, reach out and talk to a friend. If you think someone in your life is struggling, check in with them. Family, friends, and community are everything. 

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2023 NWAC Updates: What’s new this year

Though the season has only just begun, behind the scenes at NWAC we’ve been working for months to roll out a number of big changes. Some of these projects have been underway for over a year, and all were made possible thanks to community support. To learn more about this season’s changes, including new staff, forecast process updates, observations, and an all-new app, read on!

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The Avy App

Download the app here: Apple | Android

In late November 2023 NWAC launched a purpose built mobile app, Avy, that allows users to access weather and avalanche information for the Northwest Avalanche Center (NWAC) and the Sawtooth Avalanche Center (SAC). The app’s purpose is to provide a streamlined user experience for your core trip planning tools, including avalanche forecasts, weather forecasts, weather station data, and observations. Over the coming years, we hope to add the majority of avalanche centers across the country to the Avy app. 

Avy was funded 100% through individual giving to the Northwest Avalanche Center. We are grateful to be part of a community that allows us to make ambitious projects like this happen!

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Gear Up for Winter: Tips for Maintaining & Repairing Your Winter Outerwear

At NWAC, we know the stoke caused by the season’s first snowfall and the anticipation of heading to the slopes or venturing into the backcountry. As you prepare for your next winter adventure, it’s important to address a commonly overlooked aspect: gear maintenance. For this blog post, we’ve invited local PNW-based company GEAR AID to explain why gear care and repair matters when getting ready for the winter season.

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Building a New Type of Weather Station

The NWAC mountain weather station network is the largest of its kind, and this fall we were able to expand our network even further. Adding a new weather station to the mix requires months (and sometimes years) of planning with a number of stakeholders, and requires significant time and financial investment. It is thanks to the support from our community that we were not only able to purchase the equipment but also increase the staff hours needed over the off-season. These resources allowed us to take on building a weather station unique from all others in our network.  

Maintaining and expanding our network of weather stations is key to our forecasting. “NWAC’s automated weather stations are the observations that keep on giving. When access to the mountains is difficult for us and our partners, the weather stations are there to at least give us some idea of what is unfolding,” said Avalanche Forecaster Andy Harrington. More stations mean better insights into what is happening in the mountains 24 hours a day. 

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Recreate Like a Pro

For the vast majority of us enjoying days out in the snowy mountains is a hobby, albeit a sometimes all consuming one. So when planning for and executing your trip plans, you may not be approaching it from the lens of systemic rigor that those paid to work as snow and avalanche professionals do. But if you aspire to big days in the mountains, finding the best snow, and reducing risk while gaining reward, it’s worth looking at some of the big-picture practices that avalanche workers, ski guides, and other mountain professionals bring to the table on a daily basis.

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