Tetons

Another 6 to 10 inches of new snow fell in the Tetons since yesterday morning. The storm started on Wednesday afternoon, and snowfall in the Tetons has varied with the higher amounts favoring the east slope of the southern half of the Teton Range. The areas with the most amount of recorded snowfall during this storm system have seen 33 inches with over 2 inches of water at the upper elevations, 26 inches at the mid-elevations, and 20 inches at the lower elevations. The National Weather Service has extended the Winter Weather Advisory for the Tetons through noon today with another 3 to 5 inches of snow expected. Due to the recent rapid load of new snowfall, small to large soft slab avalanches on avalanche-prone terrain will be easily triggered by riders and skiers at the mid and upper elevations. Yesterday, several slides occurred naturally or were triggered remotely, indicating the sensitivity of these slabs. At the lower elevations on steep terrain, these slabs will be small in size and will become more sensitive as the day warms. Dangerous snow sluffs will also be possible. It is recommended for backcountry travelers to choose conservative terrain as the new snow adjusts and settles.

After a few lingering showers this evening, skies will be mostly sunny on Sunday as a ridge of high pressure starts to move into the region from the west. Overnight lows in the mountains will drop into the single digits before climbing into the mid-20s in the afternoon. Westerly ridgetop winds will back to the southwest at 10 to 20 miles per hour.The general avalanche hazard is expected to remain Considerable in the Tetons. Skiers and riders have the potential to trigger soft slabs on density breaks within the recent snowfall. The more likely scenario will be slab avalanches up to 4 feet deep failing on surface hoar or near surface facets that were buried at the start of the storm cycle. As the day warms, these slabs could become more susceptible to failure on sunlit aspects. With the load that this storm cycle added to the snowpack, avalanche activity could also occur on faceted layers that developed earlier in the season resulting in very large, destructive slides.In the Togwotee Pass and Southwest Trails forecast zones, Moderate hazard is expected to continue. Large to very large, human-triggered persistent slab avalanches remain the primary concern on a variety of aspects above 7,500 feet. On Togwotee Pass, where less than 6 inches of new snow has accumulated since Wednesday, any avalanche activity will likely fail on faceted snow that formed earlier in the season. Similar persistent slabs will be possible in the Southwest Trails forecast zone along with avalanches just involving the recent snowfall.