The National Weather Service Forecasts-

TODAY...RAIN SHOWERS...MIXED WITH SNOW AT TIMES IN THE MORNING. LITTLE OR NO SNOW ACCUMULATION. SNOW LEVEL INCREASING TO 1000 FEET IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGHS AROUND 39. WEST WIND 10 MPH SHIFTING TO THE SOUTHEAST IN THE AFTERNOON.

TONIGHT...RAIN SHOWERS IN THE EVENING...THEN SCATTERED SNOW
AND RAIN SHOWERS LATE. SNOW ACCUMULATION UP TO 1 INCH. SNOW LEVEL 700 FEET IN THE EVENING. LOWS AROUND 26. SOUTHEAST WIND 10 MPH IN THE EVENING BECOMING LIGHT AND VARIABLE.

SATURDAY...DECREASING CLOUDS. ISOLATED SNOW SHOWERS IN THE
MORNING. HIGHS AROUND 32. LIGHT WINDS.

SATURDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. PATCHY FOG. LOWS 22 TO 28.
NORTHEAST WIND 10 MPH.

Temperatures have fallen 5 degrees in the last 2 days and are currently below freezing again in mountain starting zones.

We have seen 19mm (about .8\")of precipitation during that time.

With only light precipitation in the forecast for the next 24 hours and cooling temperatures avalanche danger is LOW at this time.

How beacons work:

Beacons are simply electronic devices about the size of a large mobile phone that both transmits and receives an electronic signal. Everyone in the party wears one and each member turns it on when they leave the house or leave the car to head into the backcountry. (Wear them UNDER your jacket to keep the batteries warm, which also helps keep it from being torn off your body during the ride.) When turned on, the beacon transmits an electronic ?beep? about once per second. Then, if someone is buried, everyone else in the party turns their beacon to receive, and they can hear the signal from the buried victim's beacon; the signal gets stronger the closer you get. The range of most beacons varies between 40 and 80 meters depending on the brand. And yes, all beacons work on the same international standard frequency.

Caveat: Beacons only work if you practice regularly with them and most people don?t practice enough. As a result, beacon use has not increased survivability rates as much as one would hope. For people who practice regularly, however, beacons have saved many lives and they work very well. In addition, about a quarter of avalanche victims die from hitting trees and rocks on the way down, so beacons can only help the other three quarters who survive the ride before getting buried.

Practice, Practice, Practice
No matter what beacon you buy, the most important step is to practice, practice, practice. Remember that finding a single beacon in a parking lot is far easier than finding multiple buried beacons in a realistic situation, especially when a loved one is under the snow. Many mountain locations now have automated or semi automated beacon trained centers. These allow one to practice both single or multiple victim rescues, solo or as a group. Check with your local Avalanche Forecast Center for a beacon training facility near you.