Olympics

Low danger doesn't mean no danger. You can trigger a  shallow wind slab in the lee of upper-elevation ridgelines as snow levels lower. Early in the day and at lower elevations, you can still trigger a small avalanche on a very steep slope.

NPS rangers observed rain to Hurricane Ridge in the morning along with some new rollerballs and small wet loose along the Hurricane Ridge Road cuts.  Periods of light rain, wind, and rising temperatures continued during the day. Temperatures will drop back toward the freezing mark Saturday night, but we expect that moist snow exists on all aspects and elevations in the Hurricane Ridge area. 

Several inches of snow could fall on upper-elevation ridgelines by the end of the day on Sunday. SSE winds gradually shift to the SSW, generally loading the aspects on the northern half of the compass. With light winds, it might be tough to find locations with sufficient wind loading to form a 6" wind slab. Extreme terrain at the highest elevations is where you're most likely to trigger something that can harm you.  New snow will build over a gradually refreezing crust. Depending on how quickly temperatures cool off over the next 24 hours, middle elevations may harbor saturated surface snow. Once temperatures cool, that snow will transition to a breakable crust. Lower elevations are unlikely to experience enough cooling to form a crust, and wet loose avalanches can be triggered on very steep open slopes throughout the day. If you can sink into snow past your ankles, seek lower slope angles and reduce your overhead exposure.

Before the warm-up NPS staff and NWAC observers poked around the Hurricane Ridge area on Thursday.  While our Cascadian neighbors to the east experienced more extreme cold and winter weather over the work week, the Olympics saw milder temperatures and less new snowfall. They found evidence of last week's N-NE winds and more recently S-SW winds, with small cornices and wind slabs along both sides of ridgelines.  Snow fell at low elevations, but temperatures near the freezing mark limited drifting and led to small wet loose avalanches along steep road cuts.  While visibility was poor, they found stable conditions in the Maggies area of Hurricane Ridge. NE lees aspects held a relatively deeper snowpack around 4.5' (140cm) while W aspects had less than 3' (80cm).