At the mid and upper elevations, backcountry travelers could trigger recently developed wind slabs in steep, wind-loaded terrain. These slabs are most likely to be encountered in exposed terrain near ridgelines where the most heavy wind loading has occurred. In areas that went through a melt-freeze cycle yesterday and last night, the chance of triggering these slides is greatly diminished. While unlikely, these slabs could step down to persistent weak layers deep within the snowpack. With above-freezing temperatures and the threat of rain at the lower elevations, backcountry travelers still have the potential to trigger pockets of shallow slab in steep terrain.
Strong west to northwest winds have formed wind slabs on leeward slopes at all elevations. These slabs could be triggered with depths up to 30 inches at the mid and upper elevations, and up to a foot at the lower elevations.
Weak layers of faceted snow persist deep within the snowpack. Failure of these layers will produce very large avalanches with depths up to six feet. While the likelihood of triggering these slides is diminishing, the consequences remain high.
A dry day is forecast for Wednesday. Cold air with move in overnight and temperatures in the single digits could be present by sunrise. High temperatures could reach the mid to upper twenties in the mountains with warmer conditions expected in the valleys. Winds are to be Northwesterly with averages of five to fifteen miles per hour.The general avalanche hazard is expected to be Moderate in the Teton area where wind slabs to depths of three feet could be triggered in steep avalanche terrain above 8000 feet and isolated pockets to a foot could be triggered below that elevation. In the Togwotee Pass area and the Southwest Trails area the hazard will be Considerable. In these areas, a similar chance to trigger wind slabs is also present. Additionally, deep weaknesses in the snowpack remain susceptible to human triggers. If triggered these large and dangerous hard slab avalanches could have depths to five feet in the Togwotee Pass area and to six feet in the Southwest Trails area.
