Tetons

The storm system that began Wednesday night and continued into Thursday morning deposited a foot of new snow with over an inch of moisture on the highest elevations of the Teton Range. Mid elevations only received four to six inches of new snow. This snowfall was accompanied by strong west to west-northwest winds. At the higher elevations pockets of surface slab up to two feet in depth lie upon slick hard crusts. These slabs and loose snow sluffs could be triggered by humans who venture into steep terrain. Today's sunshine will increase the sensitivity of these slabs to human triggers and could initiate the release of loose snow sluffs on steep sunlit aspects. Mostly stable snow exist at the mid and lower elevations.

A wet westerly flow is expected to bring moisture in the form of periods of light to moderate snowfall to the higher elevations and a mix of snow and rain showers to the lower elevations though the weekend. Snow will develop overnight, continue through the day and is expected to increase in intensity Saturday Night. Three to six inches could accumulate at the higher elevations by sunset. On Saturday temperatures at the higher elevations are expected to remain below freezing. The rain/snow line could rise to 8,000 feet. Winds will be west-southwesterly at 20 to 25 miles per hour with higher gusts on the peaks.At the upper elevations (9,000 to 10,500 feet) pockets of surface slab up to 20 inches deep lie upon hard crusts. These slabs will gain depth and volume as the day progresses. As the load on these slabs increases they will become more sensitive to human triggers. The general avalanche hazard at the upper elevations is expected to be MODEATRE and be on the increase during the day. Below an elevation of 9,000 feet the general avalanche hazard is expected to be LOW.