New snow and winds will begin to form small pockets of soft slab on leeward aspects and will be increasing the load on buried weak layers of faceted snow. Large persistent slab avalanches could be triggered by snowmobilers and skiers on steep avalanche prone slopes. Winds are forecast to increase during the day. Monitor conditions for increasing hazard and adjust plans if new snowfall amounts exceed the forecast.
In steep terrain at the higher elevations humans could trigger small to large slab avalanches one to three feet in depth. Today's new snow and winds will be increasing the load on buried persistent weak layers which may make these persistent slabs more sensitive to human triggers Avalanches are unlikely below an elevation of 7,500 feet.
( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )Snow will develop and become steady by midnight. Moderate snowfall is expected to occur during the morning hours and gradually decrease during the afternoon hours. Winds will increase during this time and continue into Sunday night and Monday. After a brief break, snow will return late Sunday and continue through much of the day on Monday. Temperatures will be teens and 20s. Winds will be from the southwest and increase from 15 to 25 with gusts to 38 miles per hour. Sunday's system will favor the higher elevations and the Teton and Southwest Trails forecast areas. Several inches are possible by sunrise. Snowfall totals of 6 to 10 inches are likely in favored areas by sunset.New snow and moderate winds will begin to form new soft slabs on leeward aspects and will be increasing the load on buried persistent weak layers. In areas where new soft slabs begin to form on well-developed surface hoar they will quickly become sensitive to human triggers. Monitor conditions for increasing hazard. Carefully evaluate terrain features such as terrain traps, gullies and chutes that frequently avalanche and steep wind loaded avalanche starting zones. Pockets of new slab could grow to depths of 6 to 18 during the day. Deeper instabilities persist and present the potential for deeper slab avalanches, one to three feet deep, to be human triggered on steep slopes above an elevation of 7,500 feet. The general avalanche hazard is expected to be moderate but increasing above that elevation. The general avalanche hazard below that elevation is expected to be low and also will be on the increase.
