Tetons

At the mid and lower elevations and on southerly exposures at the upper elevations accumulations of recent snow lie upon bare ground and avalanches are unlikely. At upper elevations up to 6 inches of new snow containing an inch of moisture fell in the past 24 hours driven by strong southwest to westerly winds. The snow sits on a similar, dense 6 inches from the weekend that began warm then turned cold leaving a weaker, light density snow interface between the two recent events. On upper elevation northerly aspects the recent snow rests on the hard October surface. Backcountry travelers who venture into cliff areas and steep avalanche starting zones must evaluate these slopes for avalanche hazard before venturing into exposed areas as the stability has not been tested yet this season. If triggered, slides could sweep people into terrain traps, over cliff bands or into rocky areas with little snow.

Skies are expected to remain mostly clear through Thursday with lows in the single digits in the mountains and daytime highs reaching into the thirties. The General Avalanche Hazard is expected to be LOW. Although some strengthening has occurred, the potential remains to trigger isolated pockets of soft slab in very steep terrain where old snow exists, particularly near cliff edges.