Storm slab and/or wind slab avalanches including the new snow and failing within or on preexisting weak surface snow are likely in steep terrain today.

• We've noticed the development of small sugary faceted snow and areas with feathery surface hoar on the snow surface last week. If the weak surface snow was buried intact by Friday's light snow before being destroyed by warmth, rain, or wind, it is likely to be the failing layer for today's storm slabs. The buried weak snow may turn out to be a longer lasting persistent weak layer.
• Strong southwest winds accompanied heavy snowfall Friday night, and drifting probably occurred well off the major ridge tops. These drifts are now buried and obscured by yesterday's lighter powder. It won't take much wind to form new drifts today with yesterday's light snow, especially at upper elevations. Watch for and avoid slopes with recent stiffer deposits of drifted snow, particularly near ridge tops and in and around terrain features like gullies, sub-ridges, scoops, and rock outcroppings.

Heavy new snow, rain-on-snow at lower elevations, and strong winds overloaded a complex snowpack, with existing buried persistent weak layers in some areas and still weak basal layer depth hoar in others.

• Triggered deep slab avalanches are likely in some areas today. Snowpit tests during the week showed reasonable stabilization of the buried January persistent weak layers in most areas. But, I was able to find moderate failures and slab propagation in some places. Weak snow structure exists mainly in areas where the slab from last week's snow is 2' deep or less, including in shallow lower and mid elevation areas and on generally south facing slopes.
• In areas with particularly poor snow structure, the weak faceted snow in the basal layers of the snowpack might be reactivated by the added weight of this weekend's fresh snow. Dangerous and destructive​ deep slab avalanches involving old snow and failing on sugary faceted snow or depth hoar are possible, especially in areas with shallow overall snow cover.

***Pay close attention to signs of unstable snow like recent avalanches, whumpfing, and shooting cracks, and be willing to reevaluate your plans. In these conditions you could trigger avalanches remotely, from a distance or worse, from below!