Tetons

At the mid and upper elevations unstable surface slabs up to two feet in depth exist. These slabs could be triggered by backcountry travellers on steep wind loaded aspects. Yesterday a skier tiggered a two foot deep slab on a southeast aspect in the Pinedale Drainage south of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. On Wednesday surface slabs were skier triggered on northeast and southeast aspects in Grand Teton National Park. Similar events could be triggered today. Avalanches are unlikely at the lower elevations.

An inversion is expected to build though the night on Friday as the cold artic airmass remains over the region on Saturday. Overnight lows in the mountains are projected to be in the negative teens before rising into the single digits on Saturday. Temperatures should be much colder in the valley as radiation cooling drops the thermometer to near 30 below by morning, and it should not rise above zero on Saturday. Upslope flow could squeeze out a trace of light density snow east of the divide. Northeasterly ridgecrest winds are forecasted to veer to the East at 10 to 15 mph.The General Avalanche Hazard is expected to remain MODERATE on Saturday. The current avalanche problems will continue. Surface slabs, which have the potential of sweeping riders or skiers into terrain traps or over cliff bands could be triggered throughout the region on Saturday. In the shallow snowpacks of the Togwotee and Greys River areas, backcountry travelers could cause failure of deep hard slabs releasing to the ground.