At the mid and upper elevations human triggered slab avalanches are possible with potentially serious consequences. These slabs could be triggered by the weight of a single person with depths ranging from one to three feet. Collapses, whumps and cracking are indications of instability and should be an alarm to avoid steep slopes. Avalanches are unlikely at the lower elevations.
Persistent slabs up to three feet in depth lie upon a base of weak, faceted snow on a variety of aspects. Once triggered these slabs could propagate long distances and cross terrain boundaries. Persistent slabs can remain unstable for days or weeks and pose a significant hazard to backcountry users.
Snow is to taper off by midnight. Sunny skies are expected Thursday morning before cloud cover increases and the next storm bring snow to the area Thursday night. Temperatures are to remain on the cooler side with mountain highs reaching the teens to low twenties. Winds are to veer to the northwest with 10-20 mph averages during the day.The general avalanche hazard is to remain Moderate in the Tetons and Considerable in the Togwotee Pass and Southwest Trails areas. There is not a lot of distinction between these ratings other than slabs are slightly less sensitive to triggers in the Teton area at this time. The catch to this scenario is that where many slopes may not fail, it is difficult to identify which slopes are still prone to failure. Slab depths can reach 3 feet in the Teton area while the Togwotee and Southwest trails area could have slab depths to two feet.
