Snoqualmie Pass

Generally safe avalanche conditions and quiet weather will continue into Wednesday. Although you can expect temperatures to increase a bit, so you may see a few rollerballs or small wet avalanches on steep south aspects if the sun pokes out in the afternoon. Even with low danger, always assess conditions and use safe travel practices. 

We don't expect snowpack conditions to change significantly on Wednesday. But a cloudy start to the day may give way to afternoon sun breaks with warming temperatures. So, look for rollerballs or moistening snow on steep sunny slopes, where isolated and small wet loose avalanches may become possible later in the day. You might be able to find a rogue small wind slab where you could trigger an avalanche on isolated terrain features above treeline. It will likely be small, but even small avalanches can be consequential if you're swept off your feet near terrain traps. We are tracking some older layers that are showing signs of weakening - the MLK, 1/18, 1/21, and 1/27. Most of these interfaces involve weak snow near crusts. There was little initial avalanche activity when these layers were first buried. We've watched these layers over the past few weeks, and they are changing and producing more concerning test results. Time and additional loading will tell if these layers will begin to produce avalanches.  The 1/28 is our newest crust that exists on slopes that see direct sunshine and is now under an inch or two of snow and surface hoar. On Sunday, NWAC forecasters and avalanche professionals reported faceting snow around this interface with test results that failed consistently. There isn't enough snow above this interface for an issue right now, but whenever we get back into a more snowy pattern, we'll focus on this interface along with all the others. On shady and protected slopes, you'll likely still be able to find well-settled powder with less of a crust but still plenty of surface hoar.