East Slopes South

Isolated areas near the Cascade Crest hold enough snow for some wet snow avalanche hazard to develop throughout the day at middle and upper elevations. If you're moving through mushy snow and start to see fresh rollerballs falling down from rocks and cliffs, take that as a sign that stability is deteriorating. Lower elevations will remain in the clouds and generally lack consistent snow coverage for avalanche hazard to exist.

Cloud coverage stuck around more than forecasted on Wednesday, but it didn't keep temperatures from skyrocketing. The Green Lake weather station (5900 ft) maxed out at 55F. Thursday will be even warmer and sunnier (above low clouds); however, there will hopefully be two factors working in our favor. One is that high clouds on Wednesday night will begin to clear, allowing for more radiational cooling and subsequent crust formation. The second is that wind from the east will bring in a bit of cooling on Thursday. Neither of these weather inputs will be enough to totally fend off warming and weakening on sunny slopes, but we have to take the wins where we can get 'em these days. Keep in mind that conditions might be starkly different between the trailhead you start at and the slope you're aiming to ride due to increased temperature inversions.

During the short period of stormy weather, the Bumping Lake station recorded nearly 3 inches of precipitation, and the Green Lake station recorded close to 1 inch. This is typical for the zone to see considerably more precipitation closer to the Cascade Crest. This was confirmed by an NWAC Forecaster who visited several SnoPark trailheads in the zone on Wednesday and found dry ground at easterly trailheads, but enough snow to safely travel on to the west. If you are traveling in areas very close to the Crest, it could be worth your time to check out the West South forecast. This NWAC Instagram post, although older and not representative of current conditions, does a great job of further explaining the west-east divide.

Observations from this zone would be very valuable if you’re getting out—please share what you’re seeing.