Heavy snowfall and drifting today will continue to elevate avalanche conditions on steep slopes, with soft slab and loose avalanches of storm snow becoming increasingly likely. Natural soft slab and loose avalanches of storm snow are most likely during periods of very heavy snowfall, and you should stay off and out from under steep slopes during these times.. Avalanches of wind-drifted new snow, 1 to 3 feet thick, are likely in upper elevation and mid elevation terrain, with significant loading in lee terrain caused by preferential deposition during the storm.

People are likely to trigger wind slab avalanches today, especially in exposed terrain at upper elevations and on drifted mid-elevation slopes facing the northern half of the compass. Wind slab avalanches up to 3 feet thick might fail on a preexisting layer of weak surface snow. Soft new wind slabs will continue to form in and around terrain features during today's storm.

• Avoid travel on and under steep slopes with thick and/or stiff deposits of recently wind-drifted snow.
• Cracking is an obvious sign of instability.
• Soft wind slabs of drifted new snow might be quite sensitive to human triggering, while hard, now buried older wind slabs can be devious, sometimes allowing people to get well out on them before releasing suddenly, like a mousetrap.

Read my Blog about Wind, Drifting, and Avalanches

• We are still concerned by a buried persistent weak layer problem that likely still exists in outlying upper-elevation terrain, especially in the southern half of the zone. A weak layer of moist faceted November snow lurks near the ground. Destructive, hard slab avalanches up to 4 feet deep remain possible in isolated or outlying drifted terrain.
• Another potential buried persistent weak layer consisting of glittery surface hoar and/or small sugary grains of faceted snow may exist on last year's snow surface. Buried by the New Year's storm, it could have been preserved intact on some slopes. Slab avalanches today, up to three feet thick, could fail on a persistent weak layer in the Christmas-New Year's interface.