Tetons

The General Avalanche Hazard is MODERATE at the Mid and Upper elevations and LOW at the Lower elevations. On shaded aspects above 7,500 feet, dangerous slabs up to four feet in depth lie upon well developed weak layers of faceted snow, and await the ideal trigger. This trigger could be a single person that encounters a shallow weak zone or bigger triggers, such as snowmobiles or large groups, which have sufficient weight to penetrate down to deeper instabilities. The consequences of initiating one of these slabs are severe, and caution is advised.

An upper level disturbance is forecasted to impact the region starting Saturday night and into Sunday. Four to six inches of light density snow is expected by Sunday morning along with strong West and Southwest winds ranging from 30 to 50 mph, gusting to 60. Mountain temperatures should drop into the low teens overnight and then only rise slightly during the day on Sunday. The General Avalanche Hazard is expected to remain MODERATE on Sunday. The forecasted light density snow and the accompanying strong winds should form sensitive pockets of surface slab in leeward starting zones near ridge crests. In addition to possibility of carrying skiers or riders into terrain traps or over cliff bands, these small surface slabs could trigger deeper hard slabs with severe consequences.