Observation: NWAC Forecaster

All Observations

Basic Information

Observation Date:

April 17, 2022

Submitted:

April 17, 2022

Observer:

NWAC Forecaster - Dallas Glass

Zone or Region:

West South

Location:

Tatoosh Range: The Castle (W-N-E near and below treeline, visual observations on Southerly aspects)

Recent Avalanches?

Yes

Cracking?

None Experienced

Collapsing?

None Experienced

Rollerballs like these were common when the sun came out and the surface became wet and sticky.

This small natural loose dry avalanche occurred early in the morning when a block of snow fell off a tree. Note the older shallow crown from earlier in the storm cycle.

Advanced Information

Cloud Cover:

Mostly Sunny

Wind:

Light , S

New/Recent Snowfall:

Last 24hrs (HN24): 4", Since 4/8: 2.5-3ft (70-90cm) of settled snow.

Beautiful day! Clear skies in the morning with a few clouds in the sky in the afternoon ahead of a more high-thin overcast layer. Temperatures were cool to start the day and definitely warmed, but the southerly breeze helped us and the snow surface stay a bit cooler. Winds were consistently out of the S even lower in the terrain. No blowing snow was observed.

Avalanche Observation Comments:

We saw 8-10 very small (D1) loose wet avalanches in terrain near Panorama Pt and Faraway Rock. Most loose wet activity began around 1:30pm and was limited to near and below treeline.

Small loose dry avalanches from this morning and the past few days were seen on steep shaded slopes. The largest was about D1.5.

The upper snowpack generally consists of well settled, right-side-up storm snow. When probing we consistently found the 4/8 crust down 70-90cm. While some lingering storm snow layers were observed in small column tests, they did not show any signs of being able to propagate a failure. The storm snow was well bonded to the 4/8 crust.

Wind-affected snow was seen near the ridgecrest. You could easily see the various directions the wind has blown from this week, with evidence of easterly, southerly, and westerly winds being the most common. Some slopes had scouring, textured surfaces, and sharp drifts. We did not travel on any recently wind loaded slopes.

The sun began to make the snow surface moist and sticky on steep sunny slopes. Rollerballs were common in the afternoon. Some of these pinwheels reached more than 2' in diameter.

Problem	Location	Distribution	Sensitivity	Size	Comments
Wind Slab	N E S W	Isolated Specific Widespread	Unknown	D1 D1.5 D2 D2.5 D3 D3.5 D4 D4.5 D5
Wet Loose	N E S W	Isolated Specific Widespread	Unreactive Stubborn Reactive Touchy	D1 D1.5 D2 D2.5 D3 D3.5 D4 D4.5 D5

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