Tetons

The avalanche hazard will be increasing today. New snow will be accumulating on unstable and slick old snow surfaces. Shallow loose snow sluffs are likely in cliff areas and on steep slopes. Shallow pockets of new soft slab less than a foot deep could form in upper elevation starting zones and are likely to be quite sensitive to human triggers and may release naturally on steep slopes. Loose snow sluffs and pockets of shallow slab that run long distances will entrain larger volumes of snow.

Cold air is filtering into the area as the storm system continues to move south. Lingering snow showers are expected to end overnight. Clearing skies are forecast for Thursday. Temperatures are expected to drop to 10 below zero in the valleys and to near zero in the mountains overnight. Daytime highs will rise into the lows teens. Winds will gradually decrease after midnight to five to 10 miles per hour by morning and remain light and back to the northwest during the day.Humans who venture into steep avalanche starting zones with fresh deposits of wind-blown snow could trigger pockets of soft slab 8 to 16 inches in depth. Loose snow sluffs could also be human triggered on steep slopes that were not affected by the winds. The general avalanche hazard is expected to be MODERATE at the upper elevations (9,000 to 10,500 feet) and LOW at the mid and lower elevations. Low hazard does not mean there will be no hazard. At the mid and lower elevations humans could trigger loose snow sluffs and isolated pockets of soft slab up to a foot deep on steep avalanche prone slopes.