Tetons

New snow and winds will be increasing the avalanche hazard at the mid and upper elevations. Strong southwest winds and new snow are further loading buried layers of faceted snow. Large persistent slab avalanches are likely to be triggered by the weight of a single person, could be triggered remotely and may release naturally. At the highest elevations, new wind slabs are forming on leeward aspects and could be sensitive to human triggers. Once triggered these fresh surface slabs could step down to buried weak layers. Monitor conditions for increasing hazard. Excellent terrain evaluation and route selection skills, a comprehensive understanding of the distribution of persistent weak layers and conservative terrain choices are essential for safe travel in avalanche terrain. Avalanches are unlikely at the lower elevations.

The snowfall will end late tonight as a cold front moves across the area. Favored areas may receive several additional inches of lighter density snow. Winds will veer to the northwest and decrease to around 10 miles per hour by sunrise. Skies will become mostly sunny on Monday. Temperatures will drop into the single digits tonight and rise into the teens in the mountain and into the 20s in the valleys during the day.The new snow has created dangerous conditions at the mid and upper elevations where the general avalanche hazard is expected to be considerable. Large to very large slab avalanches up to four feet deep could be triggered on steep slopes by the weight of a single person. These slabs lie on persistent weak layers that formed earlier in the season and cannot be trusted. These dangerous slabs could be triggered on slopes that have been previously crossed by skiers, snowboarders or snowmobilers. Safe travel will require excellent terrain evaluation skills, restraint and a knowledge of the distribution of buried persistent weak layers. Today's additional load on these problem layers have greatly increased the consequences of being caught in a large slab avalanche. At the higher elevations dense surface slabs one to two feet in depth formed by the recent southwest winds could also be human triggered in steep avalanche starting zones. These slabs could step down to the November drought layers. The general avalanche hazard is expected to low below an elevation of 7,500 feet.