West Slopes Central

The couple inches of snow we get on Friday probably won't quite be enough - yet - to increase the avalanche danger. Exercise general caution when traveling in the mountains, and be wary of firm crusts on or near the surface in most areas. If you find new drifts deeper than 6 inches, consider steering around them in extreme terrain, where being caught in a slide could result in you getting pushed off a cliff or into hazardous terrain. 

Two to three inches of snow during the day on Friday will be enough to slightly soften hard surfaces. Clear skies over the last few days resulted in moistening south-facing surfaces. Expect a crust in these areas that isn't likely to soften on Friday. Shady aspects may be holding onto a few inches of light, dry snow above crusts at mid and upper elevations. At upper elevations, the extent of wetting on south-facing slopes might be minimal, and a breakable crust or no crust at all may be present.

During my outing on Tuesday in the Hwy 2 corridor, I found impressive surface hoar and near-surface facet growth on all surfaces in the soft new snow layer that fell on Monday, but most notably on shady low-density snow. The weak grains were likely destroyed by sun in the subsequent days on southerly and flat surfaces. Any lingering weak layers will be buried on Friday and could become problematic for future avalanches with enough new snow and load. If we get more snow than expected on Friday, or in areas with wind loading, slides may run on this weak layer. 

There is a significant loss in snow coverage at lower elevations, and even up into mid elevations. But if you make it high, coverage is reasonable, as you can read in THIS observation from Cascade Pass in the West North zone, but very close to the West Central zone. If you're planning on tackling any steep, snow-covered terrain where crusts may exist, consider carrying a form of crampons or ice axe to reduce your sliding risk. Another significant factor to be aware of is that snow conditions vary widely by aspect and elevation. Expect variable, bumpy surfaces beneath any soft new snow.