East Slopes South

Cloudy skies and possibly light mixed precipitation will maintain challenging travel conditions on firm, icy surfaces. Bring appropriate equipment to prevent uncontrollable slides on steep icy slopes. A storm will drift south into the southern Cascade on Sunday night so expect a change in conditions and an increase in avalanche hazard on Monday. 

The storm bringing snow and rain to the northern Cascades on Sunday won't be as significant in the southern Cascades. Expect a cloudy day with mild temperatures. There may be brief periods of rain or freezing rain. Cloud cover will likely keep slopes from softening during the day, so be prepared for travel on firm, icy surfaces. Use appropriate equipment to prevent slips and falls that could result in uncontrollable slides. 

There are a variety of surface conditions throughout the East South zone. Southern aspects have thick melt-freeze crusts, and some slopes have melted to bare ground at lower elevations. Northern aspects are a mix of breakable crust, weak faceted snow, or firm icy surfaces. The new snow will fall on these crusts and weak surfaces, resulting in variability for how easy it will be to trigger avalanches with new snow. Adjacent slopes may react differently, so as the storm moves into the southern Cascades and snow piles up, travel conservatively and enter new terrain slowly. 

If you get out into the mountains, send us an observation of the snow surfaces you find.