Human triggered slab avalanches are possible in steep terrain at the upper elevations and in isolated areas at the mid elevations. These surface slabs could fail on buried layers of surface hoar or buried areas of faceted snow. Avalanches are unlikely at the lower elevations. Avalanche training efforts involving explosives will be conducted at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort today.
At the upper elevations and in isolated areas at the mid elevations pockets of surface slab 6 to 18 inches in depth could be human triggered in steep avalanche starting zones, cliff areas and terrain traps.
A storm system presently centered over the Oregon Coast will dig southeastward into Nevada overnight and then drift slowly into Northern Utah. Snow is likely to develop in the morning. Periods of moderate to heavy snowfall are possible at times, especially in the afternoon and evening. The snowfall will be accompanied by strong east to northeast winds and temperatures in the 20s. Total accumulations of 5 to 10 inches in the mountains and three to six inches in the valleys are possible by Thursday.If the snowfall forecast verifies new soft slabs will begin to build and could gain some depth during the afternoon and evening hours. Pockets of new slab could build to depths of a foot or more by evening and could be sensitive to human triggers in steep areas with hard old snow surfaces. The general avalanche hazard is expected to be LOW in the morning and increase to MODERATE at the higher elevations later in the day. Monitor conditions and be wary of steep slopes that are experiencing rapid loading.
