Very strong winds yesterday drifted the heavy new snow into avalanche starting zones at upper elevations, and you are likely to trigger wind slab avalanches up to around 2 feet deep on some steep drifted slopes. Expect to find new drifts and wind slabs well off major ridge lines and perhaps in rather unexpected places.

• Very strong west wind yesterday during periods of heavy snowfall created sizable fresh drifts, some well off ridges and in normally sheltered terrain.
• Watch for and avoid fresh drifts on the lee sides of ridges, cross-loaded along sub-ridges, and in and around terrain features like rock outcroppings, gullies, scoops, trees, and saddles.
• Beware the growing and overhanging ridge-top cornices, which could break further back than you expect and could trigger wind slab avalanches on drifted slopes below.
• ***Persistent and/or deep slab avalanches are still possible on drifted slopes in outlying areas with shallow weak snow.

In some areas, the heavy new snow may not have bonded very well with a widespread thick rime-crust that was on the snow surface, mainly at upper elevations. Soft slab avalanches and long running loose sluffs are possible on slopes with significant accumulations of new snow..

Much cooler temperatures are helping to solidify and stabilize the saturated low elevation snow, but loose wet avalanches involving yesterday's fresh snow will become more likely in some areas as daytime and solar warming heats up and dampens the snow surface... The (mostly manageable) wet avalanche problem will probably only effect sunny slopes, but significant fresh snow could be entrained in sluffs on longer slopes. Some natural activity is possible on sunny slopes likely to be initiated by snow falling of trees or rocks.