Tetons

A chance persists for backcountry travelers to trigger hard wind slabs up to 18 inches deep in steep, recently wind loaded, upper elevation terrain near ridge crests and on exposed slopes. If skies remain mostly clear into the afternoon, these slides will become more susceptible to failure on sunlit aspects. Yesterday afternoon, a slide was reported in the Apocalypse Couloir on Prospector Mountain in the Southern Tetons. At the mid elevations, the hazard is limited to isolated pockets of soft slab to ten inch depths in very steep, wind loaded terrain. The snowpack is mostly stable at the lower elevations and avalanches are unlikely.

A large trough off of the Pacific Coast will move inland. Skies are expected to become cloudy overnight. On Wednesday snow is forecast to develop in the mountains during the morning hours and become more widespread in the afternoon and evening. Several inches of new snow could accumulate at the higher elevations. Temperatures will drop into the 20s overnight and rise into the 30s ahead of an approaching cold front. Winds will be south to southwest at 25 to 35 miles per hour with higher gusts.The general avalanche hazard is expected to be LOW. The snowpack is mostly stable. Humans who venture into very steep avalanche starting zones at the higher elevations (9,000 to 10,500 feet) could trigger isolated pockets of wind slab six to 18 inches deep.