Avalanches are possible at upper elevations where new snow fell as snow towards the end of the storm.
Toward the end of the storm, rain turned to snow at upper elevations. Amounts are uncertain, but newly formed wind slabs may exist on wind-loaded alpine and treeline features.
A widespread natural cycle of wet avalanches occurred across the Cascades on Thursday, with avalanches up to size 3 on all aspects. With cooler temperatures on Saturday, wet avalanche activity will decrease, but new wind slabs may have formed in the alpine.
If you head into the backcountry this weekend, please share any observations on thethe Mountain Information Network.
Over 100 mm of rain has fallen in the past few days (except closer to 40 mm in Manning), creating a wet upper snowpack that will gradually refreeze.
Lower elevations will likely have crusty surfaces on Saturday, while upper elevations may hold up to 30 cm of wind-affected snow.
Older crust layers, now buried 100 to 200 cm deep, are no longer a concern, and the snowpack is generally strong and well bonded.
Friday Night
Mostly cloudy. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level drops from 1500 to 700 m.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
Monday
Mostly sunny. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level climbing to 1600 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
