East Slopes Central

While avalanches are unlikely, many other mountain hazards exist. Expect challenging and icy travel conditions, use caution to avoid falls on slick crusts, and don't linger underneath large cornices. 

Expect a mellow day on Wednesday with gradually warming temperatures and maybe some partly sunny skies. Slight inversions have kept many valleys shrouded in clouds and colder than the upper elevations. In areas like Leavenworth and Icicle Creek, inversion conditions will probably persist until Thursday. Expect to find a variety of surfaces throughout the terrain, breakable or supportable crusts, dust on crust, and large piles of avalanche debris to navigate. Upper elevations, especially southern aspects, may soften with increasing temperatures and sun. Small loose avalanches may become possible on very steep slopes with daytime warming. If you begin sinking into wet snow deeper than your ankles, it's time to move off from steep slopes. Other hazards associated with the warming temperatures could include cornice failures. Limit your exposure or change your route to avoid exposure to these.

Clouds will begin to roll in Wednesday afternoon, bringing warming temperatures, rain, and high elevation snow on Wednesday night into Thursday. With moderate freezing temperatures and light precipitation, this storm probably won't significantly improve the current conditions. However, it may just be enough to freshen the surfaces at higher elevations and potentially build some small wind slabs on lee aspects. This small amount of new snow may cover up surface hoar that Folks have observed sitting on the crust on shaded slopes. At lower elevations, this precipitation will likely fall as rain. If you get out, be sure to let us know what you find, and share reports of surface conditions ahead of this next round of snow.