900 AM PST MON JAN 14 2008 && ZONE AVALANCHE FORECASTS * OLYMPICS- WASHINGTON CASCADES NEAR AND WEST OF THE CREST- MT HOOD AREA- Increasing avalanche danger Monday becoming considerable above 4-5000 feet and moderate below by afternoon. Considerable avalanche danger above 4-5000 feet and moderate below Monday night through early Tuesday. Avalanche danger gradually decreasing late Tuesday becoming considerable above 5-6000 feet and moderate below. * WASHINGTON CASCADES EAST OF THE CREST- Increasing considerable avalanche danger Monday above 5000 feet and moderate below through early Tuesday. Avalanche danger gradually decreasing late Tuesday becoming considerable above 6000 feet and moderate below. SNOWPACK ANALYSIS No new snow accumulated since late Saturday. Previous snow fell with strong winds and warming temperatures late Friday and Saturday. This produced widespread avalanches. Sun and warming affects produced many slides on south aspects Sunday, seen on south slopes of Stevens Pass and along the Alpental Valley. The warming and sun has now left a thin melt-freeze or sun crust by early Monday on exposed slopes. Surface hoar was also formed overnight Saturday and may be factor for future loading where buried intact. Higher elevations enjoyed sunshine Sunday causing a gradually settling snowpack and allowing for recent weak layers to partially strengthen. The sunshine Sunday and gradually settling snowpack allowed for many back country trips Sunday and numerous reports are available on the FOAC snowpack exchange and TAY web site. In addition, recent snowpits are available on the NWAC web site and may offer help in assessing the highly variable snow pack conditions one may encounter based upon locale, elevation, aspect and recent slide activity on particular slopes. See: http://www.nwac.us/snowpits/current There remain unstable wind slab layers, mainly in the upper 1 to 2 feet of snowpack and mainly near ridges on steep slopes recently loaded with wind deposited snow. These slopes should mainly be ranging from northwest through northeast facing. MONDAY A strong frontal passage should move across the area later Monday. Precipitation may start as rain briefly then cool during the afternoon along with strong winds. This should deposit dense wind slab layers near ridges on northwest through northeast aspects, especially at higher elevations. At lower elevations heavy dense snow or rain should load older snow where older weak layers of buried surface hoar or a crust layer may exist. Back country travelers should use caution and avoid steep lee slopes near ridges. TUESDAY Showers should taper off early Tuesday with low snow levels approaching sea level along with diminishing west to northwesterly crest level winds. This should allow for unstable slab layers to slowly settle. However the cold temperatures should slow this process and unstable slab layers should persist at higher elevations on previously wind loaded slopes, mainly northeast through southeast facing and above 5 to 6000 feet. &&