Salt River and Wyoming Ranges

Several inches of new snow has fallen on wet snow surfaces and a mostly stable snowpack. Temperatures cooled off overnight and are about 10 to 15 degrees colder than yesterday morning at 5 AM. Above 9,000 feet in areas where there has been 5 inches or more of new snow, a person could trigger an isolated pocket of a slab avalanche or a loose snow sluff on steep terrain. These hazards may increase with the daily warming and could have dangerous consequences on slopes with exposure or over terrain traps. As the day progresses, increased wind speed and new snowfall could also increase the hazard at the upper elevations. Backcountry travelers should monitor the change in weather and adjust their travel plans accordingly.

( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )A pacific trough and cold front will cross the forecast areas tonight and into tomorrow morning. Precipitation is expected to start this evening with the freezing level around 8,000 feet, and then by midnight, the snow/rain mix should transition to all snow. The heaviest snowfall is expected to occur between 9 PM and 3 AM, with an accumulation of 3 to 6 inches in the mountains and 1 to 2 inches in the valleys by tomorrow morning. Light snowfall will continue through Tuesday. Temperatures will drop into the 20s overnight and are only expected to warm about 5 to 10 degrees. Ridgetop winds will veer from the west to the northwest at 10 to 20 miles per hour with higher gusts. Freezing temperatures will mitigate the wet snow avalanche hazard, resulting in a mostly stable snowpack. Any moving snow hazards will be limited to the new snow and isolated to wind-loaded features on steep terrain above 9,000 feet. The avalanche hazard is expected to be Low.