Up to 20 inches of new snow with two inches of moisture has fallen in some locations since Sunday morning. This snowfall has been accompanied by very strong westerly winds with gusts to 97 miles per hour and periods of rain at the lower elevations. Dense wind slabs with depths to three feet lie upon slick old snow surfaces and could be human triggered or release naturally in some slide paths. Wet slides are possible on steep slopes at the lower elevations. The hazard will increase at all elevations as the day warms.
Dense wind slabs up to three feet in depth could be human triggered in steep wind loaded avalanche starting zones and cliff areas and have potential to release naturally.
Wet slides are possible on steep slopes, road cuts, steep banks and in the lower portions of large avalanche paths.
( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )The moist northwest flow is forecast to decrease overnight and result in diminishing snowfall and partial clearing on Tuesday. Additional accumulations of two to five inches are possible at the higher elevations. Temperatures will continue to be mild. Daytime highs are expected to rise into the 30s in the mountains and rise to near 40 degrees in the valleys. West-southwest winds will continue at speeds of 25 to 30 with gusts to 45 miles per hour along the highest ridge crests.Dense slabs with depths from 10 to 30 inches lie upon slick old snow surfaces and could be triggered by humans who venture into steep wind loaded avalanche starting zones. The deeper slabs can be found in the Greys River/Southwest Trails area. In the Continental Divide/Togwottee Pass area persistent slabs with depths to three feet can also be human triggered above an elevation of 9,000 feet in steep active avalanche paths that face north through east to south. The general avalanche hazard is expected to be MODERATE in the Teton and Togwotee Pass areas and CONSIDERABLE in the Greys River area.
