Salt River and Wyoming Ranges

At the higher elevations humans who venture into steep avalanche terrain could triggered small slab avalanches and shallow loose snow sloughs. These slides could be up to a foot deep. If these events are triggered on very steep sustained slopes, they could entrain loose snow and run long distances. Even small slides can become dangerous in terrain with consequences like steep confined couloirs, cliff areas and slopes above terrain traps. These type and size avalanches are much less threatening in lower angle terrain that is open and free of obstacles and terrain traps.

( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )Periods of light to moderate snowfall are forecast to continue overnight and will diminish during the day. Temperatures will be in the teens tonight and rise into the 20’s on Tuesday. Winds will veer from the west through the north to the northeast by tomorrow afternoon in association with the passage of a cold front. An additional 4 to 8 inches is expected in the Teton area with 3 to 6 in the other forecast areas. Forecasting snowfall amounts during orographic uplift events can be tricky. Higher and lower amounts are possible in localized areas. Loose snow sloughs and pockets of soft slab are likely to be easily triggered by humans and release naturally in areas that are being favored by this storm system. These small to large loose snow and soft slab avalanches can be dangerous in cliff areas in in steep confined couloirs. These avalanches could be one to two feet deep and could cause serious injuries in consequential terrain. In these areas (higher elevations of the Teton Range) the general avalanche hazard is expected to be moderate. In other areas where little new snow has fallen today and in the storm that occurred over the weekend the general avalanche hazard is expected to be low. In these areas isolated pockets of shallow wind slab and shallow loose snow sloughs are possible on very steep avalanche prone terrain features.