Strong westerly to northwesterly winds continued to transport the new snow onto leeward slopes and slowly increased the new snow’s slab properties. Yesterday, numerous soft slabs and loose snow sluffs were triggered or released naturally in the Tetons. These slides primary occurred on easterly to southeasterly aspects ranging in elevation from 7,500 to 8,500 feet and were one to two feet deep. Similar slides will be possible today. Skiers and riders could also trigger persistent slabs failing on faceted weak layers below the recent snowfall. Continue to make conservative terrain choices and avoid slopes that exhibit shooting cracks or whumpfing.
Recent snowfall and very strong winds have loaded weak layers of faceted snow that formed during the mostly dry period from the first half of December. Below this faceted snow, stout crusts from the end of November and sun crusts from December provide good sliding surfaces. Backcountry travelers could trigger slab avalanches failing on these layers to depths of one to three feet.
( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )Skies will become mostly clear overnight as the arctic air mass continues to move south. As the day progresses, cloud cover will increase ahead of a Pacific weather system approaching the region. Overnight lows in the mountains will be in the negative single digits before climbing to near 10 degrees in the afternoon. Northwesterly ridgetop winds will back to the west overnight and decrease to 10 to 20 miles per hour.The general avalanche hazard is expected to be CONSIDERABLE in the mountains on Sunday. Skiers and riders could trigger soft slabs and loose snow sluffs involving the new snow in steep, avalanche prone terrain. The greater avalanche concern involves persistent weak layers of faceted snow which formed during the mostly dry period from the first half of December. While the likelihood of triggering slab avalanches failing on these layers is decreasing, the consequences remain high. Continue to make conservative terrain choices and avoid slopes that exhibit shooting cracks or whumpfing.
