Over the past two days, wind slabs formed on stout sun crusts in sunlit terrain. On shaded slopes, they developed upon surface hoar and loose snow. Skiers and riders could easily trigger soft wind slabs to depths of six to 30 inches. Failures could occur either on the old snow surface or on density breaks within the new snow.
Additional weight from the new snowfall has increased the likelihood of triggering persistent slab avalanches. These slides, which could be up to five feet deep, could be triggered by skiers and riders or step down from the release of a new wind slab.
Winds will veer to the north and east as a storm system passes to the south and heads towards the plains. A wrap around flow associated with the system will bring cold temperatures and brisk northeasterly winds to western Wyoming. Skies will be partly cloudy. Temperatures will be in the single digits. The general avalanche hazard is expected to be MODERATE. Human triggered avalanches are possible on steep avalanche prone slopes and active slide paths. Soft surface slabs one to two feet in depth could be triggered by skiers or riders and deeper hard slabs with depths to five feet are possible especially with larger triggers such as snow machines or groups of people. Conservative terrain choices are recommended.
