New snow and southwest winds have formed surface slabs that will be sensitive in steep avalanche terrain today. Below this new snow, persistent slabs lie upon faceted snow and could be triggered with depths to three feet. Avalanches below 7500 feet are not expected today.
New snow and southwest winds have formed soft surface slabs that will be susceptible to triggering by riders and skiers in steep avalanche terrain. These sensitive slabs are expected to be shallow with depths of five to ten inches.
On some steep slopes slabs up to three feet deep that lie upon weak snow near the base of the snowpack that could be triggered by the weight of a single rider or skier or by initiated surface slabs. Conservative terrain choices are warranted.
( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )Snow that is to increase during Wednesday evening is to taper off in the early morning on Thursday. Periods of light snow are possible during the day on Thursday with snowfall favoring the southern areas of the forecast region. Mountain temperatures are to rise from the low teens in the morning to the mid twenties in the afternoon. West-southwest winds will be strongest during the snowfall with over twenty mile per hour averages. During daylight hours winds speeds between five and ten miles per hour are expected.The general avalanche hazard is expected to be Moderate on Thursday, although the hazard could increase to Considerable if more than anticipated snowfall occurs. Skiers and riders could trigger new soft slabs to a foot in depth as well as existing slabs. In the Tetons these slabs could be soft with two foot depths while in the other forecast areas these slabs could be hard with depths to three feet.
