Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center Seattle Washington 1150 AM PST Sat Dec 04 2010 Note that this is archived for an accident report on the 4th, and the forecast the person would have had access to before setting out would have been the 3rd. However, NWAC archives are very inconsistent, especially after 10 days. All that was available for the 3rd was the weather report. Zone Avalanche Forecasts Olympics, Stevens Pass, Snoqualmie Pass, White Pass, WA Cascades near and west of crest - n orth of Stevens Pass, WA Cascades near and west of crest - between Stevens and Snoqualmie Pass, WA Cascades near and west of crest - between Snoqualmie and White Pass, WA Cascades near and west of crest - south of White Pass, Mt Hood area Forecast Saturday and Sunday: Moderate avalanche danger below 7000 feet. Snowpack Analysis A strong front moved across the area early in the week. Sites near and west of the crest generally had 10-22 inches of snow during that time with a warming trend and some freezing rain at Snoqualmie. Many storm cycle wind and soft slab avalanches were reported during that time from Mt Baker to Mt Hood. Light amounts of snow were seen following the storm with a cooling trend. A period of stabilizing generally occurred late in the week with reports of mostly stable snow and good snow conditions found on the FOAC Exchange and Turns All Year for higher elevations near and west of the crest. Wind and soft slab layers from the storm early in the week should be most likely to linger on north to east slopes at higher elevations. Near surface crust layers seem likely at Hurricane, below about 5000 feet in the Cascades and in the Cascade passes, and below about 6000 feet at Mt Hood. Some new surface hoar frost or near surface faceting has been reported on Saturday morning such as by the Alpental, Crystal and Mt Hood Meadows ski patrols on Saturday morning. This could act as a weak layer if buried by future snowfall. A shallow snow pack should limit the avalanche danger through the weekend at the lowest elevations. Detailed Forecasts Saturday Fair weather should be seen in the Olympics and north Cascades with some clouds and a chance of light snow showers in the south Cascades Saturday and Saturday night. The main change is that local strong southeast to east ridge top and pass winds may transport snow. Therefore watch for isolated new shallow wind slab layers on west aspects at higher elevations and hence the slight avalanche danger increase on Saturday. Remember to practice safe travel techniques on Saturday. Sunday Slightly increased clouds may be seen on Sunday and Sunday night with a continued chance of light snow showers mainly in the south Cascades. Local strong southeast to east ridge top and pass winds may continue to transport snow. Therefore continue to watch for isolated new shallow wind slab layers on west aspects at higher elevations with a slight avalanche danger increase expected on Sunday. Continue to evaluate snow and terrain carefully on Sunday.