With 4+ days of high winds we have isolated weak wind slabs in unusual locations.

Be aware we are seeing slabs lower on the mountain and in more sheltered locations than normal due to these very high winds.

This weak layer will again become questionable as the load is increased during warming over the next few days.

Be aware these weak layers may be quite deep in places and use terrain to your advantage to minimize this concern.

Today we have very little likelyhood of slides on this level. As the storm builds over the next 24-48 hours this will be the concern of the day.

This is an upside down snowstorm coming to rest on a very cold incredible varied base layer. Spatial variability will remain high for several days until we get substantial snow and then this layer will be heavily in question.

The National Weather Service Forecasts-

Today- Snow changing to rain in the afternoon. Snow accumulation to 2 inches. Snow level increasing to 500 feet in the afternoon. Highs 33 to 40. Southeast wind 10 to 20 mph.

Tonight- Rain...mixing with snow in the mendenhall valley. Little or no snow accumulation. Lows 32 to 38. Southeast wind 10 to 20 mph.

Friday- Rain. Snow level 600 feet. Highs around 37. Southeast wind 10 to 20 mph.

Temperatures continue to remain cool around the region... although they will continue to rise over the next 24-48 hours.

Currently its 23f degrees at Eaglecrest up from yesterday mornings 19f degrees. Mt Roberts is much the same at 25f this morning up from the 22f yesterday morning.

If we get the majority of the warming before we get much precipitation it will help the new snow to bond better and also to create less of a low density weak layer.

So far precipitation remains minimal with barely a trace on our mountain gauges thus far. The forecast calls for another 8f degrees of warming over the next 24 hours with precip in the forecast. The quicker it warms and the longer before we see the precip the stronger the new snowpack will be.

Winds are calm around the region but we must not forget the 4 days of 100mph winds that have left weak windslabs in isolated locations. Winds are forecast to pick up as well in the next 24 hours to the 18-22mph range which is perfect for windloading to occur.

With not much change to the snowpack in several days avalanche danger is LOW at this time. Both Natural and Human triggered avalanches are unlikely.

Avalanche danger is on the rise as we see increased winds, increased loading, and warming temperatures... all red flags leading to avalanche danger.

Danger shouldn't be too bad today but as we go into tomorrow and the weekend things will definitely get interesting... especially with 15+\" in the forecast by Saturday at noon.

Here is a great link to a page with a ton of educational resources from Backcountry Access.

http://backcountryaccess.com/learn-avalanche-safety/