220 FVUS20 KSEA 051730 SABWA BACKCOUNTRY AVALANCHE FORECAST FOR WASHINGTON FOREST SERVICE AVALANCHE CENTER ISSUED THRU NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WASH 930 AM PST MONDAY February 5, 1996 FOREST SERVICE BACKCOUNTRY AVALANCHE FORECAST FOR THE WASHINGTON CASCADES AND OLYMPICS FOR MONDAY AND TUESDAY JANUARY 5 AND 6 FOR AVALANCHE TERRAIN BELOW 7000 FEET. THIS FORECAST DOES NOT APPLY TO DEVELOPED SKI AREAS OR HIGHWAYS. ZONE FORECASTS WASHINGTON CASCADES...... OLYMPICS..... Moderate avalanche danger below 7000 feet Monday, slowly and gradually increasing danger Monday and Monday night. Further significantly increasing danger Tuesday becoming high below 7000 feet with natural or triggered avalanches likely, with some large slides possible. SYNOPSIS ......... Temperatures have begun to moderate over the past two days, especially west of the crest. Generally light amounts of 1 to 3 inches of snow where received over the past 24 hours with light rain at lower elevations below 4 to 5000 feet. The warmer daytime temperatures and either heavy wet snow or rain along the west slopes has begun to create unstable slabs in the upper snowpack that are loading the large amounts of colder lower density snow which accumulated during late January. In areas that were affected by the strong easterly winds over the past week during the clear and cold conditions, a hard wind slab overlies the low density snow. Along the east slopes less wind over the past week has maintained generally unconsolidated low density snow. In all areas the cold weather last week caused significant weakening at and above the old early January rain crust. Avalanches down to the old crust should become increasingly likely when loaded by the expected heavy amounts of rain later this week. MONDAY..... Moderate rain or snow during the day with strong and gusty southerly ridgetop winds should cause a gradually increased danger as either heavy wet snow or rain begins to load either unconsolidated low density snow or wind slab. Rain or snow becoming more showery and decreasing late Monday with slightly lowering freezing levels, mainly north part. TUESDAY..... Heavy rain and significantly rising freezing levels are expected with very strong ridgetop winds. This should cause a more significantly increasing danger as widespread natural or triggered slab avalanches are expected. Some slides may begin within the near surface weak layers and step down to deeper layers or possibly to the old crust now buried 2 to 6 feet or more. Backcountry travel is not recommended Tuesday. BACKCOUNTRY TRAVELERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT ELEVATION DISTINCTIONS ARE APPROXIMATE AND THAT A TRANSITION ZONE BETWEEN HAZARDS EXISTS. RECORDED AVALANCHE FORECASTS AND MORE SPECIFIC SNOWPACK INFORMATION FOR WASHINGTON ARE AVAILABLE 24 HOURS BY DIALING 206 526 6677. KRAMER/FOREST SERVICE AVALANCHE CENTER SEATTLE WASHINGTON