East Slopes Central

Friday will be cooler than previous days with warmer temperatures at upper elevations. Watch for small wet avalanches on isolated steep slopes and rock features in the sun. A warm, wet storm will bring more dangerous avalanche conditions Friday night into the weekend.

While avalanches are unlikely, you may still be able to trigger a small wet loose slide on isolated sunny slopes above 4,500ft, especially near rocks and cliffs. A small avalanche could push you off your feet in very steep, extreme terrain. 

A wet storm will move in late Friday night, bringing rain to many areas near the Cascade crest. This storm will trend warm to cold and will have existing temperature inversions to contend with. While the outcome is still a bit unclear, we expect an increase in avalanche danger by Saturday. Some areas of the zone will see rain falling on a previously dry snowpack. 

Observers report minimal wet loose avalanche activity, just some rollerballs on south and east aspects at upper elevations. They also noted melt-freeze crusts on southern slopes. North-facing aspects still hold cold, dry snow that is beginning to weaken and become faceted. In alpine terrain, you'll also find variable wind-affected surfaces.  Large surface hoar is also widespread where cold temperatures and clear skies overlap. The snowpack height is decreasing slowly at upper elevations, but thankfully, the inversion is preserving the little snow we have at lower elevations. You will likely experience challenging travel at lower elevations with low snow cover and breakable crusts of varying hardnesses on southern slopes at mid and upper elevations.