East Slopes North

Some leftover overhanging hazards, such as cornices and rocks still holding snow, may exist in isolated areas. While the likelihood of seeing any avalanches or falling snow is still low, it's good practice not to linger beneath them as they warm in the afternoon sun. 

We're in for another day of similar weather, snow, and avalanche conditions. Slightly cooler temperatures and increased winds may be the only subtle changes on Tuesday. Some thin high clouds in the morning may linger before skies clear in the afternoon. We still expect a good refreeze overnight, and slopes facing the sun to soften during the day. Most cornices and rock slabs have either already shed or may just continue to melt back without falling. That said, where they exist, the chance of them shedding is never zero. So, don't stop for a snack under any of these overhead hazards. 

The long, clear nights have helped form a robust surface crust, despite overnight temperatures above freezing at upper elevations. Inversions have kept lower elevations east of Washington Pass much colder. Observers in the zone report that northern and shady slopes are staying frozen during the day, while sunny slopes are softening nicely into corn by the afternoon. In the western portion of the zone, near Rainy Pass, the upper snowpack is saturated and refrozen down 1-1.5' from the recent rain. Further east, closer to Washington Pass, a 2-4" surface crust exists with dry snow below. In the far eastern portion of the zone, near Tiffany Mountain, an observer reported overhanging cornices and very thin surface crusts with soft snow below at elevations above 6000ft on northerly aspects. These snowpack trends highlight the decreasing amounts of rain received during the storm as you travel further east from the Cascade Crest. 

You should expect icy travel on firm surfaces, particularly in the morning, so bring appropriate equipment to prevent long sliding falls.

A widespread natural avalanche cycle, including cornice falls occured on or around January 12th. The cycle included many large avalanches, mostly slabs, some triggered by cornices, as well as wet loose avalanches. We suspect that many of the slab avalanches occurred on existing storm/wind slab interfaces from the week prior.