Up to two feet of snow with two inches of moisture fell between Wednesday night and Sunday morning. Strong southwest winds accompanied that snowfall. At the mid and upper elevations this precipitation has increased the potential for skiers and riders to trigger large destructive deep slab avalanches and recently formed wind slab avalanches. Avalanches are unlikely below an elevation of 8,000 feet except on isolated terrain features.
Recent new snow has increased the load on deeply buried persistent weak layers of faceted snow. Large to very large deep slab avalanches could be triggered by skier and riders with depths to five feet. The consequences of triggering one of these slabs are likely to be severe.
Soft slab avalanches formed by southwest winds could be triggered by skiers and riders who venture into steep avalanche starting zones and cliff areas. These slabs could be up to two feet in depth.
( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )Periods of light snowfall may continue overnight and into Monday. Colder air will move into the region. Winds will veer to the west and decrease to 5 to 15 miles per hour.The avalanche warning issued by the Bridger-Teton National Forest Avalanche Center will expire at 6 PM this evening. The general avalanche hazard is expected to be CONSIDERABLE above an elevation of 7,500 feet and LOW below that elevation. At the mid and upper elevations dense winds slab up to two feet in depth could be human triggered in steep avalanche starting zones and cliff areas. Dangerous persistent slabs up to five feet in depth could also be triggered by snowmobilers and skiers on deeply buried layers of weak, faceted snow that formed in December and mid-January. Avalanches are unlikely at the lower elevations.
