At the higher elevations Grand Targhee received up to 15 inches of new snow over the weekend while areas on the east side of the range received 3 to 6 inches. In areas that received the most new snow skiers and riders could trigger pockets of wind slab. These wind slab avalanches could be dangerous in cliff areas and in steep couloirs. Bears are beginning to emerge from hibernation. Grand Teton National Park has temporarily closed a portion of the east-facing slope of Peak 25 Short until further notice to prevent conflict between a denning grizzly bear and skiers. More information is available at https://www.nps.gov/grte/index.htm
At the upper elevations pockets of wind slab have formed on leeward aspects. These slabs were formed by southwest to northwest winds. These slabs could be 6 to 18 inches deep and could be human triggered in steep wind loaded avalanche starting zones.
Periods of light to moderate snowfall are forecast to continue overnight and will diminish during the day. Temperatures will be in the teens tonight and rise into the 20’s on Tuesday. Winds will veer from the west through the north to the northeast by tomorrow afternoon in association with the passage of a cold front. An additional 4 to 8 inches is expected in the Teton area with 3 to 6 in the other forecast areas. Forecasting snowfall amounts during orographic uplift events can be tricky. Higher and lower amounts are possible in localized areas. Loose snow sloughs and pockets of soft slab are likely to be easily triggered by humans and release naturally in areas that are being favored by this storm system. These small to large loose snow and soft slab avalanches can be dangerous in cliff areas in in steep confined couloirs. These avalanches could be one to two feet deep and could cause serious injuries in consequential terrain. In these areas (higher elevations of the Teton Range) the general avalanche hazard is expected to be moderate. In other areas where little new snow has fallen today and in the storm that occurred over the weekend the general avalanche hazard is expected to be low. In these areas isolated pockets of shallow wind slab and shallow loose snow sloughs are possible on very steep avalanche prone terrain features.
