New snow, strong winds and warm temperatures are keeping storm slabs reactive.
Stick to conservative terrain during this period of active weather.
A weak layer of facets may be found 90 to 280 cm deep. In shallower inland areas, weak depth hoar exists to ground. Avoid steep, rocky, and thin snowpack areas where this layer could be triggered.
Storm slabs will be most reactive in wind-loaded areas and places where the slab overlies surface hoar.
No new avalanches have been reported.
With up to 40 cm of new snow and strong winds in the forecast, the avalanche danger is elevated. This means large natural avalanches are possible and human-triggering is likely.
Observations are still limited, so be sure to post yours to the MIN if you get out!
Up to 40 cm of new snow has accumulated since Monday, accompanied by strong southerly winds. Freezing levels have hovered around 1200 m. The snow surface will be moist and rain-saturated below this elevation. The highest snowfall amounts are in the White Pass area, with lesser amounts inland.
A crust buried on Jan 26th is being reported down 40 to 60 cm. On northern and eastern aspects, a layer of surface hoar exists over the crust in some places.
A layer of facets from December is buried down 90–280 cm. It remains a concern where the snowpack transitions from thin to thick in White Pass and is the layer of concern in inland areas with a lower snowpack.
Wednesday Night
Mostly cloudy. 4 to 10 cm of snow. 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1300 m.
Thursday
Cloudy. 1 to 4 cm of snow. 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.
Friday
Mostly cloudy. 2 to 3 cm of snow. 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 800 m.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy. 4 to 5 cm of snow. 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
