1000 AM PST SAT FEB 9 2008...corrected && ZONE AVALANCHE FORECASTS * OLYMPICS- WASHINGTON CASCADES- ...AVALANCHE WARNING SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING... EXTREME avalanche danger below 7000 feet Saturday through early Sunday morning. Widespread natural avalanches are certain through Sunday morning with possible large destructive slides. Travel in avalanche terrain should be avoided. Gradually decreasing danger later Sunday morning becoming HIGH above 4 to 5000 feet and considerable below. Avalanche danger slowly increasing again Sunday afternoon then decreasing Sunday night. * MT HOOD AREA-...corrected ...AVALANCHE WARNING SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING... HIGH avalanche danger below 7000 feet Saturday through early Sunday morning. Natural avalanches are likely through Sunday morning with some large slides possible. Travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended. Gradually decreasing danger later Sunday morning becoming HIGH above 5000 feet and CONSIDERABLE below. Avalanche danger slowly increasing again Sunday afternoon then decreasing Sunday night. SNOWPACK ANALYSIS Heavy snowfall over the past four days has deposited 4 to 7 feet over most Olympics and west slope Cascades and Mt Hood areas with 1 to 4 feet deposited over most east slope areas. Crest level winds during this period have averaged 25 to 40 mph with periods of very strong and gusty westerly winds seen Thursday and Friday with gusts of 70 to over 100 mph common. This has developed deep unstable wind slab layers on lee slopes while the strong winds have scoured much new snow on windward exposures. Several avalanche cycles have occurred during this stormy period with widespread natural avalanches occurring early Thursday during a brief warming trend. A cooling period with significant settlement produced a brief decrease in danger late Thursday and early Friday, however new unstable layers rapidly refilled slide paths and new unstable cornices developed with the renewed heavy snowfall much of Friday. Warming and additional snow or rain Friday night and early Saturday caused the danger to become extreme. Many natural avalanches have occurred since Friday. Some very large and infrequently active paths have released during this avalanche cycle. Some paths have slid for the first time in twenty five years and avalanches have crossed all the major Washington passes. All the Washington Cascade passes as well as the Mt Baker highway and Mt Rainier NP remain closed as of early Saturday. Large trees and deep debris piles have been reported from slide releases. Some destructive slides have also occurred including a slide destroying a house near Lake Wenatchee Thursday afternoon. A 4 to 5 foot slide released above the Alpental ski area parking lot Friday afternoon covering much of the road and lot and coming close to condos nearby. With the deep new snow layers and current warm temperatures, the snowpack is conditioned for more slides until significant cooling occurs. We are urging potential backcountry travelers to avoid the backcountry until the snowpack begins to stabilize and the risk of large or destructive slides abates. SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT Continued slow warming is expected early Saturday with additional light rain or snow maintaining the widespread natural avalanche cycle Saturday. This should maintain an extreme danger with possible large destructive avalanches. Gradually decreasing rain or snow in the south and central areas later Saturday may allow for a slow decrease in danger however continued warm temperatures should maintain the extreme danger. Continued rain or snow in the north should maintain extreme danger. Travel in avalanche terrain should be avoided Saturday through Saturday night. SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT A cold front by early Sunday should allow for lowering freezing levels allowing for a shift in the danger away from the extreme conditions. However moderate to heavy new snow and strong winds should begin to form new unstable layers. This should cause a generally high danger at higher elevations with slightly lower danger at lower elevations where less wind is expected. Travel in avalanche terrain is still not recommended Sunday. &&