Rain began yesterday and produced 1.67 inches (4.25cm) of recorded water on the summit over the past 24 hours as of 6:00 this morning. Mount Washington appears to be at a fairly significant divide between northern and southern valleys in terms of rain amounts. We may see heavy rains this afternoon with the chance of a Thunderstorm bringing in an additional 1.5" to 2.5" (3.8-6.35cm) of rain! The heaviest intensities will occur on the tail end of major precipitation amounts which will put significant load on an already stressed snowpack. It is very possible that our snowpack will have seen 3" (7.5cm) of rain in 24 hours before the heaviest intensities occur. Rain on snow is rarely a good thing on avalanche prone slopes with a winter snowpack in place. Rain adds water, heat, weight and lubrication to the snow pack in addition to the existing free water from warm temperatures preceding the rain. The one bright note is we have been settling our cold slabs over the past few days with warm temperatures and some light rain. This is very beneficial allowing many areas to stabilize substantially before the intense stress of today's new load occurs. Saying all this 3+ inches (7.5+cm) of rain is a lot of water so avalanches will still be likely today. In addition to the avalanche problems it will just be a miserable day to be in the mountains. After being completely soaked the cold front passage this afternoon will bring falling temperatures freezing all your clothing and zippers. Frozen zippers can turn into a real emergency quickly if you know what I mean. Freezing temperatures will also bring in some mixed precipitation and will begin turning our saturated snowpack into a massive encapsulating dome of concrete. It is absolutely a great day to finish off the last of the left over pumpkin pie and soak in the hot tub and wait for another day. Over the next week I would expect the skiing conditions to be bleak, but ice should grow up high due to the amount of water and dropping temperatures. This ice will be like manna for ice climbers who have seen a tought start to the season.

Warm temperatures, heavy rain and flooding will all contribute to the potential for ice fall today. Many people have been injured or killed by icefall on Mt. Washington. Make sure you know what is above you and have a plan for what you will do if icefall occurs. Make sure you have a big rock to hide behind if you need to linger under ice.

A variety of snowfields exist in both Ravines ranging from isolated pockets to large gullies. Large snowfields and isolated pockets of instability both have their dangers. If a snowfield is big enough to recreate on it's big enough to avalanche. Remember that early season conditions can produce some interesting activity so take this rainy week to dust off the equipment. Don't wait any longer to refresh your avalanche skills. Pull out your beacon, practice, and spend a couple bucks on a fresh set of high quality batteries. Review your safe travel rules, techniques for assessing snow stability, and sign up for an avalanche course. We now have all the avalanche courses offered in the Valley this winter on our website, tuckerman.org. Sign yourself or a loved one up now!