East Slopes Central

Another sunny, chilly day is in store for Sunday. The most likely challenge that you'll encounter will be travel on breakable crusts and icy surfaces. Use caution in steep terrain where a slip or an isolated avalanche could lead to an uncontrolled fall. 

Friday and Saturday brought high temperatures in the mid-20s and sun. Aside from low-elevation valleys, southerly slopes stayed cold and frozen in most locations. You can expect similar weather for Sunday.

At upper elevations, in steep, unsupported terrain, there's a slight chance that you could trigger an isolated avalanche in older wind-drifted snow. Consider this potential along with uncontrolled falls if you travel in very steep, extreme terrain.

On Saturday, observers on Blewett Pass reported no signs of instability and widespread surface hoar. An observer in the foothills of the Chelan Sawtooths, near Manson, reported 2.5-3 feet of snow on the ground at 4,400ft. On Thursday, NWAC forecasters in the Salmon La Sac and Mission Ridge area experienced windy conditions but no new wind slabs were formed. Observations from the Teanaway area indicated a weak snow layer beneath a melt-freeze crust in the upper snowpack. We don't expect this layer to be an issue until more snow arrives.

The warm, sunny weather on the 13-15th formed a melt-freeze crust on the surface of southern aspects. Shady slopes also now harbor a layer of large surface hoar over these melt-freeze crusts from the clear nights. Upper elevations are a mix of stiff wind-affected snow and melt-freeze crusts. Some northerly slopes that stayed cold still might hold soft snow, especially close to the Cascade crest. You're more likely to encounter challenging travel over crusts and refrozen "coral reef." 

Help NWAC Forecasters reduce uncertainty by submitting an observation!