East Slopes Central

We picked up very little snow from this recent storm, and avalanches will be unlikely on Wednesday. While very steep slopes in direct sun may experience some rollerballs or small wet avalanches, the cold temperatures will limit the size and extent of these. The most significant hazard may be difficult travel on icy slopes, creek holes, exposed rocks, and thin snow cover at low elevations.

Well, that storm certainly didn't pan out the way we all had hoped. Storm snow totals throughout the zone were around 1-3 inches, quite the undershot from the 6-10 inches that the weather models predicted. Regardless, the surfaces did get a nice refresh, and there may be some deeper pockets of windblown snow at upper elevations. Observers from Holden found dry settled powder in sheltered northern aspects above 5800ft. If you travel near ridges in these high elevation alpine zones, you may find small wind slabs on lee aspects. Use visual clues such as textured surfaces and actively blowing snow to identify wind-affected terrain. If you see signs of instability, such as shooting cracks, consider traveling on low-angle routes. Remember that terrain traps such as cliffs, rocks, trees, and open creeks can increase the consequences of even small avalanches. 

Wednesday will be a chilly day with highs in the mid to low 20s and partly cloudy skies. The cold temperatures will likely keep surfaces cool enough to prevent significant wet loose avalanche activity. However, very steep rocky terrain in direct sun may shed a few rollerballs or small wet loose avalanches. 

Various challenging surface conditions exist, such as slick crusts, frozen reef-like conditions, and thin snow cover at low elevations. Challenging travel will likely remain a significant hazard and create the potential for long uncontrollable slides on steep terrain. Make sure to bring appropriate equipment for these conditions. In addition, a widespread avalanche cycle occurred throughout the Cascades on the 28th, and there are plenty of large piles of debris to navigate. 

Observers throughout the zone have found weak faceted snow on sheltered northern aspects. The recent dusting of snow may have preserved this weak snow and could potentially become a persistent weak layer with additional snow. We are also still tracking older persistent weak layers, and observers at Holden found variable test results on weaker snow beneath a thin crust from Valentine's Day about 3ft down on a NE aspect at 5,600ft. While there haven't been any recently reported avalanches on this layer, it is worth digging down to identify if this weak structure exists in the areas you are traveling.