Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Olympics.
Recently formed wind slabs exist at higher elevations and may still be triggered under the disguise of new snowfall. Avoid slopes greater than 35 degrees where you see blowing snow, snow drifts, or fresh cornices. If clouds clear, sunshine may create wet avalanche conditions at higher elevations while at lower elevations, wet snow conditions may linger due to recent or active rainfall. Stay off of steep slopes where you see new rollerballs, fresh fan shaped debris, or crevasse-like cracks in the snow.
Detailed Forecast
You can still trigger a Wind Slab on northerly aspects at Hurricane Ridge on Sunday. Several inches of moist new snow expected to fall Friday night with generally light winds will disguise older, healing wind slabs formed during the Wednesday through Friday night time-frames.  You can use visual clues to identify wind loaded slopes. Blowing snow, snow drifts, and fresh cornices all indicate that wind slabs may exist in nearby terrain. Avoid slopes greater than 35 degrees where you see wind loading has occurred.
Expect Loose Wet avalanche problems to extend into near treeline or above treeline terrain on southerly aspects if the sun makes an appearance on Sunday. In this case, keep your slope angle down or avoid slopes where roller-balls are forming. At lower elevations, rain has saturated snow near the surface and without radiation cooling due to cloudy skies on Saturday night, the cooler air mass coming in may not be sufficient to consolidate the moist upper snowpack. Where you encounter active rainfall or wet snow surface conditions  indicated by roller balls or fan-shaped avalanche debris, stay off of slopes greater than 35 degrees. Loose Wet avalanches have the ability to entrain more snow than you might expect and may carry you into areas with higher consequences, such as trees, creeks or gullies.
Other spring hazards exist in the mountains. As water drains the snowpack, Glide avalanches are possible on slopes with smooth ground surfaces. Minimize your exposure to slopes with crevasse-like glide cracks. Glide avalanches are difficult to predict and can occur without warning.
Recent warm weather and rain resulted in many creeks beginning to open. Be cautious if your intended route takes you over larger creeks as snow bridges may have grown thin and weak.
Snowpack Discussion
Wet snow is falling Saturday afternoon with light winds at Hurricane ridge, following a break in the action Saturday morning.
At Hurricane ridge, 6.5" of new snow fell Friday night with over a foot of new snow accumulated since Wednesday. Moderate south winds Wednesday and again Thursday night through Friday night transported snow, likely forming wind slabs, particularly on northerly aspects.The snow has fallen at temperatures near freezing and has warmed with mid-day temperatures each of the last 3 days rising into the mid-30's at the weather station. The warm temperatures should have helped to quicken the stabilization of recently formed Wind Slabs formed primarily on northerly aspects. Observations indicate that the recent snow fell on an underlying strong and supportable crust.
The upper snowpack generally consist of layers of melt-form snow and strong rounded grains. This has produced a strong snowpack without any layers of concern.
Older weak snow had been observed on N-E aspects near and above treeline. Small facets were found just above a crust about 1.5 ft (45cm) below the snow surface. This interface is likely no longer an issue due to recent rain and warm temperatures.Â
Observations
On Thursday NPS Rangers reported 6†(15cm) of heavy new snow over the most recent crust (4/11). The recently formed crust was strong and supportable.
On Friday 4/6, NWAC professional observer Matt Schonwald found glide cracks in isolated areas. The snowpack on solar aspects is becoming patchy, especially below treeline.Â
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.
Wind Slabs form in specific areas, and are confined to lee and cross-loaded terrain features. They can be avoided by sticking to sheltered or wind-scoured areas..
Wind Slab avalanche. Winds blew from left to right. The area above the ridge has been scoured, and the snow drifted into a wind slab on the slope below.
Wind slabs can take up to a week to stabilize. They are confined to lee and cross-loaded terrain features and can be avoided by sticking to sheltered or wind scoured areas.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 1
Loose Wet
Release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. They generally move slowly, but can contain enough mass to cause significant damage to trees, cars or buildings. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.
Travel when the snow surface is colder and stronger. Plan your trips to avoid crossing on or under very steep slopes in the afternoon. Move to colder, shadier slopes once the snow surface turns slushly. Avoid steep, sunlit slopes above terrain traps, cliffs areas and long sustained steep pitches.
Several loose wet avalanches, and lots of pinwheels and roller balls.
Loose wet avalanches occur where water is running through the snowpack, and release at or below the trigger point. Avoid terrain traps such as cliffs, gullies, or tree wells. Exit avalanche terrain when you see pinwheels, roller balls, a slushy surface, or during rain-on-snow events.
Aspects: East, South East, South, South West.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 1