200 PM PST SAT JAN 26 2008 && ZONE AVALANCHE FORECASTS * OLYMPICS, WASHINGTON CASCADES NEAR AND WEST OF THE CREST- ...AVALANCHE WARNING... MODERATE avalanche danger below 7000 feet Saturday morning. CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger below 7000 feet Saturday afternoon. HIGH avalanche danger below 7000 feet Saturday night. Avalanche danger decreasing Sunday becoming considerable below 7000 feet. * WASHINGTON CASCADES EAST OF THE CREST- ...AVALANCHE WARNING... MODERATE avalanche danger below 7000 feet Saturday morning. CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger above 4000 feet and moderate below Saturday afternoon. HIGH avalanche danger above 4000 feet and considerable below Saturday night. Avalanche danger decreasing Sunday becoming considerable below 7000 feet. * MT HOOD AREA- ...AVALANCHE WARNING... MODERATE avalanche danger below 7000 feet Saturday morning. CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger below 7000 feet Saturday afternoon. HIGH avalanche danger below 7000 feet Saturday night. Avalanche danger decreasing Sunday becoming considerable below 7000 feet. SNOWPACK ANALYSIS Dry weather and snowpack settlement reduced the avalanche danger the past several days. The last storm was early in the week when strong east winds followed about 6-12 inches of snowfall. This created varied snow conditions at higher elevations with lots of scoured windward slopes, and wind crusts or local wind slab layers on lee slopes. Few avalanches have been reported the past few days which also indicates stabilizing. A small 1 foot slab avalanche was reported on a north slope near Snow Lake at Snoqualmie Pass on Thursday on the Turns All Year web site. Limited back country information has been available probably in part due to varied poor snow conditions. Surface hoar frost and surface faceted snow should be common on shaded sheltered slopes especially at lower elevations in the passes due to the recent fair weather. Sun crusts should be found on slopes that faced the sun. Note that these surface or near surface layers may act as weak layers or fairly efficient bed surfaces for upcoming snowfall. SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT Increasing southwest crest level winds and increasing clouds are expected Saturday morning. This should cause little change in snow conditions Saturday morning. Further increasing winds and increasing snow should be seen Saturday afternoon and night. This should generally lead to a significantly increasing avalanche danger by Saturday night. Warmer denser new snow layers that cover hoar frost or surface crusts might cause shallow but easily triggered avalanches. Triggered avalanches in new snow should become probable by Saturday night. SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT Decreasing southwest to west winds and decreasing snow showers are expected Sunday with cool temperatures. New denser storm cycle and wind slab layers are likely to be seen on lee slopes and the cool temperatures should delay stabilizing. This is most likely on north to southeast aspects or on shaded sheltered slopes where new snow buries recent hoar frost. We advise great caution or avoiding avalanche terrain since stability may vary quite a bit from slope to slope. New snow amounts may also vary quite a bit in different areas. The avalanche danger will be greater in areas of heavier snowfall and less in areas of lighter snowfall. Remember to do your own terrain and stability evaluations. Partial stabilizing should be seen by Sunday night. &&