Up to 30 inches of new snow with nearly three inches of moisture fell during the past two days. This storm produced an upside-down snow density profile and was accompanied by strong west-southwest winds. The Wyoming Department of Transportation triggered a large avalanche in the Twin Slides avalanche path last night and in the Cow of the Woods avalanche path yesterday morning. The ski patrols at our local ski resorts triggered numerous dense slab avalanches with ski cuts and explosives on a variety of aspects at all elevations yesterday.
Skiers and riders could triggered dense surface slabs from one to four feet in depth on a variety of aspects at the mid and upper elevations. Dense surface slabs with depths to 18 inches could be human triggered in steep terrain at the lower elevations.
Expect partly cloudy to mostly clear skies on Wednesday. Overnight lows in the mountains will be in the upper teens before rising into the mid-30s during the day. Westerly to northwesterly ridgetop winds will range from 10 to 20 miles per hour.Backcountry travelers could trigger dense surface slabs one to four feet deep in steep, avalanche-prone terrain. Large triggers, such as snowmobiles, are more likely to release these slabs. As the day warms, the likelihood of triggering these slabs will increase. The general avalanche hazard is expected to be MODERATE during the morning hours and increase to CONSIDERABLE during the day.
