East Slopes Central

For Saturday, expect warm temperatures and sun in the morning with building clouds and a chance for light precipitation late in the day. In general, avalanches will remain unlikely. You may see a few rollerballs or tiny wet avalanches in very steep terrain, but the most significant hazard will likely be challenging travel on hard icy surfaces.

Weak faceted snow, sometimes overlying thick crusts, has been documented on sheltered northern aspects throughout the zone. With the potential for significant snowfall towards the end of the weekend, it will be important to track these surfaces as they may become buried and create slab avalanche problems. So, if you are out in the mountains, let us know what snow surfaces you find by submitting an observation.

An observer near Cannon Mtn reported 4-6" of accumulations above 6,500ft from a storm on the 8th. On northerly aspects, you can still find dry snow at elevations above 5800ft. So if traveling in these alpine areas, be sure to approach new terrain slowly and dig down to identify any weak faceted snow before committing to steep slopes.  Use visual clues such as textured surfaces and cornice formation to identify wind-affected terrain. If you see signs of instability, such as shooting cracks, consider traveling on low-angle routes. Remember that terrain traps such as cliffs, rocks, trees, and open creeks can increase the consequences of even small avalanches. 

Various challenging surface conditions exist, such as slick crusts, frozen reef-like conditions, and thin snow cover at low elevations. Challenging travel will likely remain a significant hazard and create the potential for long uncontrollable slides on steep terrain. Make sure to bring appropriate equipment for these conditions. In addition, the widespread avalanche cycle that occurred throughout the Cascades on the 28th left plenty of large piles of debris to navigate.