Four days of strong west-southwest winds have created dense wind slabs on leeward aspects. These slabs could be human triggered in steep wind loaded avalanche starting zones, steep couloirs and cliff areas at the mid and upper elevations. The freezing level has been fluctuating between 7,000 and 8,000 feet since Sunday. Areas of wet unstable snow exist in steep terrain at the lower elevations. Warming temperatures will be increasing the hazard at all elevations today.
At the upper elevations dense wind slabs up to 18 inches in depth could be human triggered on steep slopes. At the mid elevations isolated pockets of dense slab up to 12 inches in depth could be human triggered in very steep avalanche terrain.
At the lower elevations wet slides are possible in areas where isothermal snow exist in steep terrain and in areas where heavy, damp snow lies upon buried layers of faceted snow. These wet slides could be human triggered or release naturally.
A storm is to bring snow to the mountains by sunrise on Thursday. This precipitation is to continue throughout the day. Temperatures at higher elevations are to reach the high twenties while low elevation terrain reaches the upper thirties where periods of rain and snow are expected. Very strong southwest winds are to have averages between twenty and forty miles per hour. The general avalanche hazard will ultimately be determined by the timing, amount, and temperatures associated with the expected precipitation. Upper elevations will be rated as Moderate with wind slabs possible in all forecast areas. At Togwotee Pass the chance to trigger persistent slabs also continues, reinforcing the moderate rating. At lower elevations, the recent wet slide problem may or may not continue, dependent on hard to predict weather variables, particularly the elevation of the freezing line. Check the am forecast for updated information concerning the avalanche problems.
