845 AM PST THU JAN 17 2008 && ZONE AVALANCHE FORECASTS * OLYMPICS- WASHINGTON CASCADES NEAR AND WEST OF THE CREST- MT HOOD AREA- * EAST SLOPES WASHINGTON CASCADES- Moderate avalanche danger below 7000 feet Thursday and Friday. Locally greater danger above 5000 feet on steep northeast to southeast facing slopes near ridgelines where a locally considerable danger exists. SNOWPACK ANALYSIS The most recent storm occurred Monday. This storm began warm with rain or freezing rain in many areas early Monday and cooled dramatically later Monday and was accompanied by very strong west to northwest crest level winds. This produced a crust to about 4 to 5000 feet in the north and to above 7000 feet in the south with varying amounts of new snow above. The new snow that accumulated by Tuesday morning ranged from about 6 to 15 inches with the greatest snow received in the Stevens to Snoqualmie Pass areas in convergence. Previous mild weather and sunshine last weekend along with the rain or freezing rain early Monday helped to settle and consolidate the deep northwest snowpack while forming an underlying crust in all areas except the higher elevations in the north and east slopes. The recent sunny mild weather last weekend and recently formed near surface crust has now shifted the danger away from some of the old deeply buried weak layers to mainly isolated surface wind slab layers produced late Monday and Monday night. These should be near ridges and mainly above about 5000 feet and most prevalent on northeast to southeast facing slopes near ridges and at higher elevations. Elsewhere, some good and relatively stable snow conditions exist on sun and wind sheltered slopes, consisting of low density surface snow and gradually increasing density snow with depth. A field trip Wednesday by NWAC colleague and myself into the Stevens Pass BC near Skyline ridge showed mostly unconsolidated and stable surface snow of 14 to 18 inches over a strong crust and some excellent conditions. Wind affects from Monday were evident along an east facing ridge at about 5400 feet where two small isolated soft slabs were triggered near the ridge by other parties. These were isolated in nature and slid on the recent crust. Similar snow conditions were reported in the Snoqualmie Pass area Tuesday ranging from 3000 to 5000 feet. DETAILED FORECASTS THURSDAY, THURSDAY NIGHT Mostly cloudy in the north and mostly sunny in the south with moderate northerly crest level winds. This should allow for continued snowpack settlement and consolidation. Some wind transport near ridges may build some shallow and isolated slab layers at higher elevations exposed to stronger winds. Some sunshine and warming in the afternoon may lead to a slightly increased danger on steeper southerly facing slopes where some wet surface snow conditions may develop. Fair skies and cooling overnight should cause a decreasing danger. Surface hoar should develop in many areas overnight and should be considered with future snowfall. FRIDAY, FRIDAY NIGHT Increasing high clouds with light to moderate northwest winds. This should not appreciably change the avalanche danger. Older snow layers should continue to settle and stabilize. Some isolated wind slab layers may persist at higher elevations, especially near ridges and slopes facing generally easterly. Some light new snow is expected Friday night along with increasing northwest crest level winds. This may build some new but shallow wind slab layers on lee slopes near ridges where caution is advised. &&