National Weather Service Issues Avalanche Warning for Multiple States

While April is only two weeks away, winter weather is still present in several parts of the United States.

Late Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued avalanche warnings for territories in two states--Montana and Washington--as "very dangerous" conditions are expected.

Avalanche Warning in place in Montana

The Flathead Avalanche Center in Hungry Horse, Montana, in conjunction with the NWS Missoula office, implemented a Backcountry Avalanche Warning early Wednesday for slopes above 5,000 feet in the Whitefish, Swan, and Flathead Ranges, as well as the Lake McDonald and Marias Pass areas of Glacier National Park.

The advisory runs until 6 a.m. Thursday morning.

"Natural and human-triggered avalanches are very likely. Wet loose avalanches will entrain a dangerous amount of wet debris. Weak layers buried several feet deep may fail, resulting in very large and destructive avalanches," the NWS warning reads.

Washington also under an Avalanche Warning

The Northwest Avalanche Center and NWS Seattle issued an avalanche warning late Tuesday for the West Central Zone. The alert will remain in effect through Wednesday.

The West Central Zone is located along the West Slopes of the Cascades from State Route 20 to north of I-90. It includes the Mountain Loop Highway and the mountains near and south of Highway 2.

"Very dangerous avalanche conditions are expected. Travel in backcountry terrain is not recommended. Put a large buffer between you and terrain where avalanches can start, run, and stop," the NWS says.

More on avalanche safety

If you're going to be in either of these areas in Montana or Washington, or if you're planning on hitting the backcountry elsewhere in the coming weeks, check out this Men's Journal guide to avalanche safety.

Stay alert and stay safe.