Tetons

At the upper elevations pockets of new, very soft slabs formed in the past two days by southwest winds. Deeper, harder slabs rest on buried crusts. Humans who venture onto very steep, wind loaded slopes or into cliff areas could trigger surface slabs up to two feet in depth. Larger triggers, such as snow machines or cornice drops, may also be able to trigger hard slabs up to four feet deep in the starting zones of active avalanche paths. At mid and low elevations the snowpack is mostly stable and avalanches are unlikely except in cliff areas or in extreme terrain.

A weak, upper level trough will move across the region tonight with periods of light snow through Monday with little snow accumulation expected. Temperatures at 9,5000 feet will rise from the low single digits in the morning to near 10 degrees in the afternoon. Winds will be northerly at 20 to 25 miles per hour. The general avalanche hazard above an elevation of 9,000 feet is expected to be MODERATE Thursday. Pockets of wind slabs to 18 inches in depth could be triggered on very steep, lee slopes. The second or later person on a slope may be necessary to initiate a slide in avalanche-prone terrain. Avalanches are not likely at the mid and lower elevations where the general avalanche hazard is expected to be LOW.