East Slopes Central

Friday will be a transition day to colder weekend weather and the snowpack isn't fully transitioned, either. Avalanche conditions are generally safe, but keep an eye out for an errant wet snow avalanche where the sun is shining or a slab of recently drifted snow in high-elevation terrain.

Friday should be a relatively benign day in the mountains. After a bit of rain and snow up high overnight, it will be sunny but trending colder with some wind. The snowpack has taken a beating over the last week, and we suspect that there isn't much snow available still to move downhill. That being said, the snowpack has not yet completely transitioned into a "Spring" snowpack, and Friday won't be quite cold enough to really lock everything in. The closer you are to the Cascade Crest, the higher the likelihood of encountering some unstable snow.

There remains some chance of encountering a wet loose avalanche on Friday. If you begin to notice rollerballs and wet snow that slides easily on underlying crusts, you should move to lower angle terrain. While wet loose avalanches will generally be small and predictable, they could easily knock you off your feet in consequential terrain.

If you travel into high alpine terrain, keep your eyes peeled for deeper drifts of recent snow below ridgelines on lee slopes. Shooting cracks from your equipment, audible collapsing, and recent slab avalanches are indications that you should steer around steep, wind loaded terrain.

Cornice falls and glide avalanches are even less likely, but if you're in the wrong place, they could be very dangerous. Avoid traveling under large, overhanging cornices, especially if they appear to be sagging. Don't enter onto a slope with open glide cracks.

You can help reduce forecast uncertainty by submitting a public observation here or on the AVY mobile app.