With over a foot of heavy new snow and two inches of water equivalent before yesterday's storm, there was plenty of fresh snow for the strong east and northeast winds to drift around at upper elevations. Triggered wind slab avalanches in the 1 to 2+-foot-deep range are likely in drifted upper elevation terrain, and natural avalanche activity is possible. Watch for and avoid stiffer snow and fresh drifts on the lee of major ridges and in and around terrain features like sub-ridges, rock bands, and gullies. In very isolated places, the wind drifts could overload pockets of shallow weak snow, often near rocks, in upper elevation terrain, resulting in a deeper slide.

Freshly built-up and greatly enlarged cornices are also a concern, as they may be hair-trigger sensitive today, might break further back than you expect, and could trigger significant wind slab or storm slab avalanches on slopes below.

With new snow over the weekend containing 2 inches of snow water equivalent, as reported by the Tony Grove Snotel,and significant accumulations from yesterday and overnight, soft slabs and entraining point releases consisting of storm snow are likely in steep upper and mid-elevation terrain and possible even in areas that are generally sheltered. Any steep slope with a foot or more of freshly accumulated snow is suspect.