Southeast Mountains

Heightened avalanche conditions exist for lingering wind slabs at upper elevations and the low-likelihood but high-consequence of a very large avalanche releasing deeply on weak snow near the ground. For a reduced risk of triggering an avalanche, consider southerly facing slopes, or search for wind-sheltered terrain that has an even distribution of snow across the terrain and lacks trigger points where the snowpack thins near rock outcrops for example. 

High temperatures rise above freezing today and will increase the threat of roof avalanches around town. Don't forget to look up and consider minimizing time under snow-loaded rooflines, or avoid the situation altogether if you see other roofs sliding. 

The wind slab avalanche problem didn't appear to be reactive or widespread yesterday. Strong westerly winds appeared to be ineffective at creating fresh sensitive slabs, while the dense snow that fell Wednesday night set up quickly. The wind slab avalanche problem was removed from the list this morning as normal caution returns for slab avalanches that could release in the upper snowpack. If you are taking advantage of the nice weather today and traveling on steep slopes at upper elevations, keep an eye out for previously wind-loaded terrain and the isolated areas that could still release an avalanche in the upper snowpack. 

The primary focus remains on the deep and persistent slab avalanche problems. Human triggering an avalanche that releases near the bottom of the snowpack has a low likelihood, but high-consequence outcome given the expected very large avalanche size. This video offers some good points on what a triggered avalanche would look like and how to consider managing them. If you are traveling on suspect terrain, there is a level of risk that can't be removed. You can further reduce your chance of triggering an avalanche by avoiding trigger points where the snowpack thins and the weight of a human could impact the weak layer near the ground. You may notice slabs thinning where the wind has eroded the snowpack, or where slabs thin near rock outcrops for example. Another point to consider is how you will manage your group in the terrain and where you chose to regroup or call safe zones. Are your regrouping areas protected from the expected avalanche size? This isn't an easy situation to manage. You may find more manageable avalanche conditions on southerly facing slopes where the conditions for these avalanche problems are expected to be isolated or rare. 

More snow is in the forecast for Saturday. You can expect fresh wind slabs to begin forming throughout the day. We don't currently expect the avalanche danger to bump back to CONSIDERABLE tomorrow. The northwest mountains are expected to get the most snow out of Saturday's storm and would come the closest to seeing a bump in the avalanche danger. Check back in tomorrow morning for an updated snow forecast and reevaluation of the avalanche danger ratings.