Tetons

At the mid and upper elevations, four to six inches of fresh snow driven by strong west-southwesterly winds have formed new soft slabs and added weight to existing weak layers. On steep, leeward slopes, backcountry travelers could trigger these new six to twelve inch slabs, which rest upon slick sliding surfaces on many aspects. Higher consequences will result from failure of older layers within the snowpack with slab depths up to two feet. These slabs have the potential to bury people, or carry them over cliff bands or into shallow, rocky terrain. At the lower elevations, new snow has fallen on mostly bare ground and avalanches are unlikely.

Tuesday will be dry and chilly with overnight lows in the mountains in the single digits and daytime highs in the teens. Valley lows will also be in the single digits before climbing into the mid 20s during the day. Ridgetop winds will be northwesterly at 10 to 20 miles per hour.On Tuesday, the General Avalanche Hazard is expected to be MODERATE at elevations above 9,000 feet. There, backcountry travelers could trigger pockets of soft surface slab and loose snow sluffs up to a foot in depth on steep, wind loaded avalanche starting zones. Isolated pockets of much harder slab up to 18 inches deep persist beneath the new snow and retain some potenital to be triggered by humans. At elevations below 7,500 feet, new snow has fallen on mostly bare ground and avalanches are unlikely.