Most slopes have a LOW avalanche danger, with a MODERATE danger on upper-elevation slopes facing northwest through north and southeast for triggering fresh soft slabs of wind-drifted snow.
Although unlikely, there is a chance of triggering a soft slab avalanche 1-2' deep on isolated steep slopes facing west to south to east.
Southwest winds may create pockets of fresh wind-drifted snow in exposed open terrain at the upper elevations. Watch for cracking as signs of unstable snow.
A thin layer of faceted snow that is buried 1-2' deep on occurs on many slopes facing west to south to east. On southerly-facing slopes, this faceted layer may sit just above a thin sun crust. This was the weak layer for the Birthday Bowls avalanche on Monday and was also the likely weak layer in the Chilly Peak Slabs on Saturday. On Wednesday, Drew visited the Birthday Bowls avalanche (which was likely triggered by a moose) and is summarized in this video:
Field work on Thursday indicated this weakness is gaining strength and avalanches failing on this weak layer are unlikely.
In addition to some wet avalanche activity, the remotely-triggered avalanche that occurred this past on Saturday on Chilly Peak Slabs near North Fork Park had a repeater avalanche yesterday (photo below, Ron Gleason). It is possible this was wind-loaded as there were reports of isolated wind drifting in this area on Thursday.
See the full list of avalanche activity where you can filter avalanches by region and date.
Skies are partly-cloudy with temperatures in the 20's and low 30's F. Winds are from the south and generally light through the mid elevations, with a few weather stations gusting into the low 20's mph. A different story at the upper elevations where wind speeds are averaging in the 20's and 30's with gusts near 40 mph.
A weak system moves through the region later today with partly-cloudy skies and temperatures rising well into the 30's F. Winds will be from the south/southwest and light to moderate at mid elevations, averaging in the teens with gusts in the 20's mph. Along upper-elevation ridges and peaks, winds will average near 30 mph with gusts near 40 mph. The strongest period of winds should occur later this afternoon where you may even see an errant snowflake or two.
For this weekend, sunny and breezy on Saturday with cooler temperatures. A promising-looking storm later Sunday into Monday, with 6-8" of snowfall likely by Monday.
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This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done. This forecast is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.
