Tetons

Strong northwesterly ridgetop winds earlier in the week have backed to the southwest creating hard wind slabs on a variety of aspects near ridge crests and in exposed upper elevation terrain. Backcountry travelers could trigger these slabs on very steep, wind loaded slopes. If mostly clear skies persist into the afternoon, these slides will become more susceptible to failure on sunlit aspects. 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.

Expect mostly to partly cloudy skies Monday night and into Tuesday. A few scattered flurries may develop overnight, but with little to no accumulation. Overnight lows in the mountains will be near 20 rising to around freezing during the day. Southwesterly to westerly ridgetop winds will range from 25 to 35 miles per hour.The general avalanche hazard is expected to be MODERATE on Tuesday. A chance persists for backcountry travelers to trigger hard wind slabs up to 18 inches deep in steep, recently wind loaded terrain above 9,000 feet near ridge crests and on exposed slopes. Below 9,000 feet, the hazard is LOW and avalanches are unlikely except for isolated pockets of surface slab up to 12 inches deep on very steep, wind loaded starting zones.