Huntington Ravine will have Considerable avalanche danger today. Natural avalanches are possible and human triggered are probable. Unstable slabs are probable in avalanche terrain. Be increasingly cautious in steep terrain.

This is shaping up to be a very interesting week ahead of us. A few low pressure systems will bring snow to the mountains with relatively light winds until the weekend. Before we talk about the future, let's look back to yesterday. We had an impressive temperature spike on the mountain that gave us some freezing rain and encapsulated a lot of the snow I was thinking would be transported. As a result the 80+ mph winds didn't find much to move around and now we have a .4" (1 cm) freezing rain crust at Hermit Lake. Now new snow if falling at a steady rate on top of this new crust and has added up to 3" (7.6 cm) at Hermit Lake. This system is forecasted to give us 3 to 5" (7.6 to 12.7 cm) of snow today but it looks like we may squeak out 6+" (15 cm) based on what has already fallen and the bands of heavy precipitation that are still to come. Winds are not going to be very impressive today with forecasted speeds of 25 to 40 mph (40 to 65 kph) out of the WSW on the Summit. This is going to keep wind loading to a minimum but I do expect light transporting to create soft slab conditions, particularly in the start zones. Given the rate of snowfall expected today and the potential for some light transporting of the new snow, natural avalanches are a possibility in most locations. In addition to soft slab avalanches, loose snow avalanches (point release) are a potential issue today. As this system winds down, another one will replace it causing the winds to wrap all the way around the compass rose over the next 24 hours. This storms arrival will keep the pressure gradient down resulting in low wind speeds through Friday. This second system is forecasted to give us another 3 to 5" (7.6 to 12.7 cm) of new snow beginning around 1 am tomorrow morning. Yet another storm is brewing for Saturday with strong winds expected as it exits the region. A lot can happen between now and then but it seems as though we could be in for another impressive avalanche cycle this weekend. Stay tuned and enjoy the new snow.

Crampons, an ice axe and solid self arrest skills are recommended for travel in steep terrain. This includes the Lion Head Winter Route. The Sherburne Ski Trail is open with new snow and full coverage.