Central Cascades

Tuesday will be another day with avalanches being unlikely, with prolonged stable weather and no new snow in our region since January 8th. The greatest hazard for the day will be firm and variable surface snow conditions, especially on slopes exposed to the sun. 

As we continue through this extended dry spell and period of low avalanche danger, it is pertinent to discuss snow surface conditions. Sheltered, shady slopes are harboring drier faceted snow, while other slopes are showing to be quite a mixed bag. We've had a few days of cooler temps after a couple of weeks with warm weather, resulting in snow surfaces on solar aspects that have melted then frozen, and for Tuesday are again unlikely to receive enough sun to soften up. Ski and snowmobile tracks from rider traffic over the last couple of weeks, combined with varied surface melt patterns from solar input during this high pressure, have also attributed to varied surface textures and riding conditions in our backcountry zones. The good news is that there is still cold, soft snow out there if you're willing to go searching for it. And more importantly, our weather is finally shifting, with snowflakes on the horizon. There is still a lot of winter left, and I'm feeling hopeful that going forward, current snow levels won't be this low again until late spring. Fun to believe, anyway!